Watchdog Nation column named best in nation

The Watchdog wins top honor in National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ contest

The Dallas Morning NewsWatchdog column won first place in the 2015 National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ annual competition.

The column by Dave Lieber with Marina Trahan Martinez was praised for displaying “true excellence in column writing.”

The award was presented June 29 at the group’s 39th annual conference in Indianapolis.

Dave-Lieber-funny-keynote-speaker-wins-award

2015 Winners: Dave Lieber and Marina Trahan Martinez

The winning columns detailed the trial of an Oak Cliff woman’s killer, the legal difficulties of Dallas District Judge Staci Williams, and behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Texas Department of Public Safety in its fingerprint program for Texas drivers.

James Haught of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia won second place, and Robert Dyer of the Akron Beacon Journal won third.

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Watchdog Nation has been honored at the 38th annual National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference.

 For the third time in four years, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog column has been a finalist in the general-interest column contest for large U.S. newspapers.
 
 The 2013 judge explained, “In his Watchdog column, Dave displays courage and a willingness to challenge injustice and illogic wherever he finds it. He also gets positive results for others, which is always a hallmark of everyone who expresses their opinion for a living. And his work shows a willingness to even challenge himself and his own fallibility. He writes very well and fulfills his mission in a way deserving of national recognition. Were but more columnists blessed with his sense of outrage over even small injustices.”
 
Tom Rademacher of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press won, and sports columnist Rick Telander from the Chicago Sun-Times was third.
 
The winning columns were for work done in 2012 at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Dave Lieber is now The Watchdog columnist for The Dallas Morning News. The Watchdog appears every Friday and Sunday in the Metro section and on DallasNews.com. Dave also contributes the “Watchdog Video Tip of the Day” on DallasNews.com’ Videos section.
The contest judge cited columns about a decision by the Texas insurance commissioner to remove disciplinary actions from the public website (later reversed), about an Arlington businessman who scammed his best friend and how Dave was almost scammed by a gravestone company after his father’s death.
Dave Lieber's Watchdog Nation won a 2013 writing award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists 

This honor caps off a wonderful half year of honors and awards.