CHARLESTON, SC—General Excellence winners were presented with awards in the annual Better Newspaper Contest during the National Newspaper Association’s 2012 Annual Convention & Trade Show, for achieving recognition in these prestigious categories:
General Excellence
General Excellence – College Division
The awards were presented to winners in attendance at the “Toast to the Winners” award reception, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, which was held during NNA’s Annual Convention & Trade Show in Charleston, SC.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE
NNA established this award to recognize member newspapers that achieve excellence in the following areas: quality of writing; headline language; use of photos and art work; mechanical–evidence of craftsmanship and skill in composition, reproduction and presswork; editorial page(s); front page; family life/living page(s); sports page(s); advertising design and layout, quality and technique of writing copy, handling of classified and/or reader ads and taste; and treatment of public notices.
Entrants submitted three non-Sunday issues: one from June 2011, one from November 2011 and the third a consecutive issue to either submitted issue.
General Excellence winners are listed below, including judges’ comments:
Daily Division
1st place--Antelope Valley Press Palmdale, CA. Judges' Comments: "A massive package of news, features, opinion, ads and misc. information. Very nice special sections and feature sections. Colorful and inviting."
2nd place--Sioux City Journal Sioux City, IA. Judges' Comments: "The most attractive, best designed paper in this category. High volume of community news, features and photos. Excellent production; nice ad work. Get a few more local voices on the editorial pages."
3rd place--Wyoming Tribune Eagle Cheyenne, WY. Judges' Comments: "Nice package of local news and features. Production is good, but design is a bit over the top; it shouldn't be a distraction. Interesting mix of items on page fronts."
Honorable Mention--The Union, Grass Valley, CA. Judges' Comments: "Nice package of local news, features and photos. Not quite the bulk of the higher-placing papers. Design very good in places; needs updating on other pages."
Non-daily Division, circulation 10,000 or more
1st place--The Taos News, Taos, NM. Judges' Comments: "Excellent package of local news, features, photos. nice design; production. Very good opinion pages. Some well-done in-depth reporting. Excellent entertainment and feature insert -- Tempo. Top-notch ad work. A clear No. 1."
2nd place--The Las Cruces Bulletin, Las Cruces, NM. Judges' Comments: "Massive amount of news and information. Plenty of local photos, faces, features, plus community details. Nice design; well ordered packages -- business, A&E, home, etc. Good, not great, opinion pages (a few more local voices -- column, letters -- would be great.)"
3rd place--The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, ME. Judges' Comments: "Takes third on volume of content, variety, local focus. Lots of letters; good ad work. Design could use updating (as it could for many of the entries). Wide web is a throwback. Fine bundle of local content in a bulky package."
Honorable Mention--Washington Missourian, Washington, MO. Judges' Comments: "Impressive bundle of local content -- news, features, photos, opinion. Fine production, ad work. Design needs updating, as do most of the newspapers in this division."
Honorable Mention--The St. Louis American, Saint Louis, MO. Judges' Comments: "Nicely designed package. Lots of faces and good news from the African American community. Good paper, but lacks the massive volume of content of the higher-placing entries. Much better looking product that most of the entries in this category."
Non-daily Division, circulation 6,000-9,999
1st place—The Southampton Press-Eastern Edition, Southampton, NY. Judges' Comments: "Spectacular package of information--news, features, photos, ads --all excellently produced. Clean, fresh design, layout throughout. Some inside pages a bit gray, but the layout keeps them open, airy. Hefty, wide-ranging content has something that will appeal to everyone at some level. Great No. 1 in a strong field."
2nd place—The N'West Iowa REVIEW, Sheldon, IA. Judges' Comments: "A constant gem. First-rate, excellent content, top to bottom, front to back. Superb production; great graphics. Wonderful opinion and special pages. Prodigious, attractive ads. A more attractive entry than No. 1, but not quite the massive amount of content, which is first-rate in both publications. Newspapers are alive and well -- at least these are!"
3rd place--Sequim Gazette, Sequim, WA. Judges' Comments: "Like 1st and 2nd, a great newspaper! Crammed full of wonderful information-- news, features, photos, ads that make it a terrific asset for the community. Right up on the heels of 1 & 2. Excellent opinion pages."
Honorable Mention—Jackson Herald, Jefferson, GA. Judges’ Comments: “Great read.”
Honorable Mention--Jackson Hole News & Guide, Jackson, WY. Judges' Comments: "Another terrific paper in a strong, solid class of entries."
Non-daily Division, circulation 3,000-5,999
1st place--Hutchinson Leader, Hutchinson, MN. Judges' Comments: "Excellent community news package. Quality writing, photos, design, production hold strong and steady from front to back of all three papers. Nice, fresh design. Exceptional production. Upbeat presentation. Clean look. Engaging news writing and range of features. A solid Number 1 in a strong field."
2nd place--Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, ME. Judges' Comments: "Solid community news/information package. Good writing. Plenty of variety. Volume carried you to 2nd. Strong field with many entries in 2nd-place range."
3rd place--Litchfield Independent Review, Hutchinson, MN. Judges' Comments: "Wonderful paper; terrific design front to back. Good writing. Engaging range of news, features, photos, commentary."
Honorable Mention--Wise County Messenger, Decatur, TX. Judges' Comments: "Terrific community newspaper. A bit loose in design, but open and inviting. A good representative example of a very strong group of papers in the honorable mention range. Lots of fine work being done at small papers across the country. All need to keep updating content, design, presentation."
Non-daily Division, circulation less than 3,000
1st place--West Point News, West Point, NE. Judges' Comments: "Nice package of community news, features and photos. Good opinion page; good special sections. Unless it's just not possible, get color, at least on P. 1."
2nd place—The Imperial Republican, Imperial, NE. Judges' Comments: "Good community package. Nice design. Do whatever it takes to get color, at least on P. 1."
3rd place--Delano Herald Journal, Delano, MN. Judges' Comments: "Nice package of community news, photos, opinion. Work on design -- particularly inside."
GENERAL EXCELLENCE - COLLEGE DIVISION
Entrants in the College Division, submitted three issues: one from February 2011, one from November 2011 and the third a consecutive issue to either submitted issue.
Entries were judged on an overall evaluation of the newspaper with a rating based on the following areas: quality of writing; headline language; use of photos and art work; design and typography; editorial page(s); front page; student life page(s); sports page(s); and advertising design and layout, quality and technique of writing copy, handling of classified and/or reader ads and taste.
Winners in the College Division are listed below, including judges’ comments:
Daily & Non-daily Division
1st place—The Southwestern College Sun, Chula Vista, CA. Judges' Comments: "Lots of campus voices -- great! Very good in-depth stories (some tended too long). Lots of good photos, columns, features. Layout could use updating, and needs more advertising. Good event/activity coverage -- sports too!"
2nd place—The Daily Universe, Provo, UT. Judges' Comments: "February issues much better than the November issue (a permanent change?). Very nice design and excellent variety of news and features. Good opinion pages in Feb. 15. More entertainment coverage -- campus towns are big on entertainment, and more student activity stories would be good. Sports too! Need more sports coverage."
Note: No 3rd place awarded in this division.
Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association is the voice of America’s community newspapers and the largest newspaper association in the country. The nation’s community papers inform, educate and entertain nearly 150 million readers every week.
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NNA awards General Excellence winners in 2012 newspaper contests
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