NEW YORK – The Rocky Mountain News won the 34th annual Associated Press Managing Editors Freedom of Information Award for reports on concerns about the chairman of the neurosurgery department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Six other newspapers, including The Sun-Journal of Lewiston, Maine, were selected from among 38 entries to receive FOI Citations, APME announced Monday. The award will be presented at the APME annual conference Oct. 13-16 in Louisville, Ky.

The award is given to a journalist or a newspaper for work that advances the First Amendment, makes good use of Freedom of Information principles or statutes, or significantly widens the scope of information available to the public.

The Sun-Journal was a finalist in the competition and will receive an APME FOI Citation for pursuing a report that had been withheld on the apprehension of Auburn’s mayor for suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants.

Other citation winners included the Los Angeles Times, The Record of Hackensack, N.J., and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.