Celebrating Michigan Newspaper Week, Michigan Press Association’s 2011 Better Newspaper Contest netted the Clarkston News nine awards.
Sports writer Wendi Reardon earned four awards, including third place for Sports Writing for her story, “Five grapplers finish All-State at state finals.”
Her article “Back in play” earned a second place for Sports Column.
In Sports Feature, Reardon earned first- and second-place awards. Her story “Coach Whitehead inspires one last time” took first.
“Legendary coaches always have a place in players? hearts and in the heart of the community,” judges said. “We appreciated understanding Coach Whitehead’s physical challenges with MS, which helps to make the story that much more inspiring.”
In second was the story “Six-year-old finds his footing on water.”
“We love the unusual nature of this sports story ? a six-year-old and a water sport that is rarely reported. It’s interesting and fresh,” judges said.
Editor Phil Custodio earned a third-place award for his Picture Story, “Path to paszkis.”
“This was very visually interesting,” judges said.”Each photo shows a different step, and I think it gives readers a peek into someplace not many have gone. I think the rise in popularity of shows such as ‘Cupcake Wars’ and ‘Cake Boss’ prove that people like going behind the scenes to see how this stuff works. And the photographer gets great candid shots of the woman working.”
Editorial Writing and Editorial Pages netted the News two first place awards, while the Millstream section earned second-place for Lifestyle Pages.
“The section includes a lot of faces and photo, which is terrific for a community newspaper. There’s a good mix of content as well. Its design could use improvement,” judges said.
This year’s Progress edition, “Trends,” earned third place in Special Section.
Colorado Newspaper Association volunteers reviewed 2,542 entries submitted by 102 Michigan newspapers in the contest. Complete results are posted at www.michiganpress.org.
? Phil Custodio