This Blog Is the Shit: Runnin' Scared Takes Home 2010 Alt Weekly Award

Pictured: Village Voice editor Tony Ortega hoists Runnin' Scared's Alt-Weekly Award, flanked by staff.

Not that you didn't already know, dear reader, but as the young people would say, "game recognize game," because we have just been officially told we are what the young people would call

• "Off-the-chain."
• "The 'Ish."
• "The Bomb."
• "The Dopeness."
• "ILL."
• "Sick."

As of today, Runnin' Scared picked up the 2010 Alt-Weekly Award for Best Staff Blog.

Village Voice Media's Andy VanDeVoorde reports of the awards that this company pulled a Schindler's List At the '94 Oscars and basically owned it on every other Alt-Weekly out there, as VVM took home 16 out of 24 of the awards. That's a solid number and also perfect in that it protects us from any monopoly accusations, in case you were about to say something. Now, you can't. Not that you can have a monopoly on being awesome, but we're apparently coming close:

The Village Voice, edited by Tony Ortega, was the big winner, with five top finishes: Arts Criticism, Political Column, Music Reporting, Staff Blog, and Music Blog. "Ortega killed, and I told him off in public for it, because (Voice news-blog) Runnin' Scared beat (OC Weekly news-blog) Navel Gazing," [OC Weekly editor and Alt-Weekly Awards MC Gustavo Arellano] reports.

YEAH TONY WHAT'S UP WE SEE YOU REPRESENTING FOR US. There are any number of reasons Runnin' Scared could've won for best news blog. Maybe it has something to do with:

• Our own Roy Edroso being quoted by President Barack Obama.
• The New York Times gushing over us as "a great mix of high and low."
• Legendary Voice film critic J. Hoberman, who individually scored an AWA for Arts Criticism (50,000 and over) when he's not knocking infamous NY Press curmudgeon Armond White down a peg here.
• The local politics beat being owned by Voice staff writers like Tom Robbins, who individually scored himself an AWA for Political Column (Circulation: 50,000 and over). Also: Wayne Barrett, Elizabeth Dwoskin, and Steven Thrasher, among others.
• The local cop-corruption beat being owned by staff writer Graham Rayman and his NYPD Tapes series, which continues on the blog.
• Relentlessly hard-hitting blogging on Scientology by Voice editor-in-chief Tony Ortega.
• Relentlessly hard-hitting blogging on exclusive and breaking media news.
• Relentlessly hard-hitting blogging on Jen Doll's groundbreaking Adorable Animals in Trouble series.
• Relentlessly hard-hitting blogging on the matter of Too-Sexy People, from bankers to spies to Terry Gross.
• Relentlessly hard-hitting blogging on binge-drinking games.
• Relentlessly hard-hitting blogging on weekends, by our weekend editor, Joe Coscarelli.
• Or, of course, our dick jokes, the market value of which is currently somewhere between one and six million dollars.

It was likely a combination of all of these things, and then some, as it takes a lot of hard bloggin' folks here (can't forget senior editor Ward Harkavy, Voice web editor Camille Dodero, or VVM Director of New Media, Bill Jensen) to make Runnin' Scared happen. We're proud of our award, but also honored to be recognized alongside some pretty stellar bloggers at alt-weeklies around the country: Washington City Paper's City Desk, as well as fellow VVMers Squid Ink (of LA Weekly), and Navel Gazing (of OC Weekly). We're in good company. Finally, big ups to fellow Voice winners Sound of the City and Voice music editor Rob Harvilla for their Best Music Blog and Best Music Reporting AWAs, respectively. Thanks for making our Fridays, and please, for the love of god: Keep clicking. And reading. That, too.

[fkamer@villagevoice.com]