In May 2004, Keith won first-place awards for both news and feature writing. His story, “Falling Down,” about a French Quarter clown who overdosed in Boston, won first place for general feature writing from the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Managing Editors while his story about an LSU student who drank himself to death won first place from the Louisiana Press Association.

In July 2003, Keith’s story about Dan Rather’s quest to capture Hurricane Lili, “The Old Man and the Storm,” won second place for arts and entertainment feature writing in the annual Excellence-in-Feature-Writing contest sponsored by the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors. According to the AASFE, a record 1,400-plus entries from more than 150 newspapers were submitted for the 15th annual competition. The story also won first place for feature writing from the Press Club of New Orleans that spring while another story about Manny Chevrolet’s run for mayor took first from Associated Press editors from Louisiana and Mississippi.

In June 2002, Keith’s coverage of a homeless shelter located in an up-and-coming arts district drew the ire of neighbors as well as the attention of his peers as it won first place for general news reporting from the Press Club of New Orleans and the Alex Waller Memorial Award. That same year, he also won first place awards from the Louisiana Press Association for best feature writing and best continuing coverage of a single news event.