Texas journalism awards go nuts

This Saturday, Peter and I will be going to the local Society of Professional Journalism awards banquet in Riverside. Every time, there’s always a few “huh” awards (including ones I’ve received), but overall, the integrity of the SPJs hasn’t ever been in question. I attribute weird awards to not knowing what else was submitted and maybe the judges burning out on seeing oodles of the same sorts of stories repeatedly (at least, that’s what I tell myself, since my soldier-home-from-Iraq pieces never win).

Well, that’s nothing compared to the scandal surrounding the Texas-area Katies awards:

Elizabeth Albanese, former press club president and winner of 10 Katies in the past four years, may have “rigged” the contest, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Rigged might be the wrong word. It turns out entries were never read and no competition was actually held. Albanese could not produce the names of any judges for the 2006 competition. Or, for that matter, the names of judges from 2005, or, come to think of it, 2004. She was unable to provide them, giving a variety of reasons, including her switch from one laptop to another, club officials said.

Elizabeth Albanese, 37, if that is her real name — court documents show her to be Lisa Albanese, 41 — has a history of psychotic behavior dating back to her adolescence, and has been arrested in Texas, Virginia and Maryland on charges including passing bad checks, fraud, theft and forgery.

Wow.

R. Kelly writes song for Virginia Tech

Grammy-award winning R&B artist and love machine R. Kelly has recorded a song inspired by the Virginia Tech shootings:

“Rise Up” will be available digitally May 15, and 100 percent of the net proceeds from its sale will go to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, said Jive Records, Kelly’s record label.

Kelly, 40, wrote the inspirational ballad after watching the events unfold on television while he was on tour, Jive said.

The lyrics include the lines: “Rise up, when you feel you can’t go on, rise up, and all of your hope is gone, rise up, when you’re weak and you can’t be strong.”

The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund was created to provide assistance to the victims of the families, as well as grief counseling and other needs for those affected by the shootings.

Thanks, R. We’re still keeping all the freshman girls away from you.