1999 Distinguished Service Award

Alt journalism's Laake honored for distinguished service

The Arizona Press Club honors Deborah Laake - book author, reporter, columnist and alternative newspaper executive - with its Distinguished Service Award. After a career marked by confrontation, passion, survival and almost brutal honesty, she took her own life earlier this year at her home in South Carolina. She was 47.

Laake had battled breast cancer since 1994, and depression much of her life. She also battled those who professed indifference, prejudice, ignorance or intolerance.

And she battled for others - for the little guy, for the taxpayer, for the murder victim and for alternative journalism in Arizona.

"Other journalists talk about truth, but Laake was dedicated to it," Michael Lacey, executive editor of Phoenix New Times, told The Associated Press in February. "In many ways, her writing served as a beacon to other journalists to show how timid they are."

Her stories - whether about AIDS or AzScam, Mormonism or Catholic sightings of the Virgin Mary in a tortilla - were entertaining, hard-hitting and elegantly written. Her awards reflected her talent: a special citation from the University of Missouri (1983); a feature-column-writing award from the Arizona Press Club (1987); Virg Hill Journalist of the Year honors from the Arizona Press Club (1988); a National Headliner award for feature writing, and a finalist placing for the Nixon National Newspaper writing award (1991).

Laake gained national attention in 1993, with the publication of "Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon Woman's Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond." The memoir - which described her upbringing and eventual rejection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - detailed some of the church's secret temple rites, and examined her growing awareness of church leaders as controlling, superstitious and misogynistic. The book, which was on the New York Times best-seller list for 16 weeks, prompted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to excommunicate Laake for apostasy.

Laake was hired by New Times in 1981. Her last article for the weekly was published in March of 1998.

"In addition to her profound skills as a writer, Deborah Laake was a terrific editor of words and ideas," wrote Arizona Republic staffer Dave Walker, who worked at Phoenix New Times during Laake's tenure. "New Times had always spoken its own weird, wonderful language, but when Laake showed up, it started to shout."

Her unflinching, in-your-face style of journalism didn't always earn her friends - and she knew it.

"Deborah was not always the most popular girl at the party," acknowledged New Times writer and columnist Amy Silverman. "But even her enemies have to admit that she could tell a hell of a story." Former colleague Jana Bommersbach, now of KTVK Channel 3/Phoenix Magazine, had a similar observation.

"Deborah was nosy," she wrote. "She was tenacious. She was obnoxious. She was pushy. She was confrontational. She was all the things a good journalist is in search of the truth.

"Arizona has seen far too few of the Deborah Laakes of the world. We were lucky to have had her talent and her voice."

PAST WINNERS OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

1998 -- John Kolbe of The Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette

1997 -- Hugh Harelson of Arizona Highways

1996 -- The Phoenix Gazette

1995 -- University of Arizona School of Journalism

1994 -- John Dougherty of The Arizona Republic