May 02, 2011
Newspapers earn recognition in annual contest
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Newspapers throughout central and Southern Illinois earned recognition during the annual meeting of the Southern Illinois Editorial Association, Friday, April 29, at Giant City Lodge near Carbondale.
The SIEA 2011 Better Newspaper Contest features two competitions: one in which member papers are judged for content in two editions published during the contest year, and one where they may submit entries on their own. Faculty from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Journalism worked with top journalism students to select winners for all of this year’s contests.
The contest was for entries published in 2010.
In the so-called pull competition, newspapers compete in four circulation divisions: Division A -- small weeklies (2,800 and under); Division B -- large weeklies (over 2,800); Division C -- small dailies (25,000 and under), and Division D -- Large dailies (over 25,000).
For the pull competition, judges rate the weeklies’ and small dailies’ efforts in seven performance categories: best local news coverage, newspaper design, best use of photography, best editorial page, advertising excellence, best local sports coverage, and general excellence.
The large daily newspapers compete only for the General Excellence award.
Dates used for the pull week are chosen randomly; competitors don’t know in advance which editions are going to be judged. The two dates chosen are the same for all papers. Pull weeks for this year’s contest were the weeks of October 17-23, and December 5-11. Editors also had the option of substituting a week of their choice for the second week.
Member papers compete against each other regardless of circulation figures in the open competition. Entrants may submit materials in 11 judging categories: best feature story, best editorial, best news photo, best photo essay, best website, best education story, best news story, best sports photo, best feature photo, community service, and the Charlie Feirich Original Column competition.
The SIEA awards first, second, third and honorable mention where appropriate.
Pulled Entry Winners
Small Weekly Newspapers
Local News Coverage: 1. (tie) The Independent, Herrin; Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem; 2. Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; 3. Goreville Gazette, Goreville; Honorable Mention -- The Courier, Carterville.
Best Newspaper Design: 1. (tie) The Independent, Herrin; Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem; 2. Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; 3. (tie) The Courier, Carterville; Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; Mascoutah Herald, Mascoutah; Vienna Times, Vienna; Ramsey News Journal, Ramsey; Okawville Times, Okawville.
Best Use of Photography: 1. (tie) Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; The Independent, Herrin; 2. (tie) The Courier, Carterville; Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem; 3. (tie) Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; Mascoutah Herald, Mascoutah.
Best Editorial Page: 1. Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; 2. Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 3. (tie) The Independent, Herrin; The Courier, Carterville; Honorable Mention -- Cairo Citizen, Cairo.
Advertising Excellence: 1. (tie) Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; The Independent, Herrin; Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 2. (tie) The Courier, Carterville; Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem; Vienna Times, Vienna; 3. (tie) Ramsey News Journal, Ramsey; Okawville Times, Okawville.
Best Local Sports Coverage: 1. Mascoutah Herald, Mascoutah; 2. Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; 3. The Courier, Carterville; Honorable mention -- Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; Vienna Times, Vienna.
General Excellence: 1. Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; 2. The Independent, Herrin; 3. The Courier, Carterville; Honorable mention -- Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville.
Small Daily Newspapers
Best Local News Coverage: 1. Journal Gazette, Mattoon; 2. The Telegraph, Alton; 3. (tie) Daily Republican, Marion; Effingham Daily News, Effingham; Honorable Mention -- Morning Sentinel, Centralia.
Best Newspaper Design: 1. (tie) Journal Gazette, Mattoon; The Telegraph, Alton; 2 (tie) Daily Republican, Marion; Effingham Daily News, Effingham; 3. Morning Sentinel, Centralia.
Best Use of Photography: 1. Journal Gazette, Mattoon; 2. The Telegraph, Alton.
Best Editorial Page: 1. (tie) Journal Gazette, Mattoon; The Telegraph, Alton; 2. Daily Republican, Marion; 3. (tie) Morning Sentinel, Centralia; Effingham Daily News, Effingham.
Advertising Excellence: 1. (tie) Journal Gazette, Mattoon; The Telegraph, Alton; 2. (tie) Daily Republican, Marion; Morning Sentinel, Centralia; Effingham Daily News, Effingham.
Best Local Sports Coverage: 1. The Telegraph, Alton; 2. Journal Gazette, Mattoon; 3. Effingham Daily News, Effingham; Honorable Mention -- Morning Sentinel, Centralia; Daily Republican, Marion.
General Excellence: 1. Journal Gazette, Mattoon; 2. The Telegraph, Alton; 3 (tie) Daily Republican, Marion; Effingham Daily News, Effingham; Honorable Mention --Morning Sentinel, Centralia.
Large Weekly Newspapers
Best Local News Coverage: 1. Jersey County Journal; Jerseyville; 2. North County News, Red Bud; 3. (tie) O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; Leader Union, Vandalia; Pike Press, Pittsfield.
Best Newspaper Design: 1. Union Banner, Carlyle; 2. (tie) Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; South County News, Gillespie; The Republic Times, Waterloo; 3. (tie) Pike Press, Pittsfield; Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Honorable Mention -- Leader Union, Vandalia; County Journal, Percy; Monroe County Independent, Columbia.
Best Use of Photography: 1. Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 2. O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; 3. (tie) North County News, Red Bud; Leader Union, Vandalia; Pike Press, Pittsfield; Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; The Journal-News, Hillsboro; South County News, Gillespie; County Journal, Percy.
Best Editorial Page: 1. South County News, Gillespie; 2. Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 3. Leader Union, Vandalia; Honorable Mention -- O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; County Journal, Percy; The Republic Times, Waterloo.
Advertising Excellence: 1. Pike Press, Pittsfield; 2. (tie) O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Press-Record, Granite City; North County News, Red Bud; 3. (tie) Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; Leader Union, Vandalia; Monroe County Independent, Columbia.
Best Local Sports Coverage: Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 2. Press-Record, Granite City; 3. Leader Union, Vandalia; Honorable Mention – Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Pike Press, Pittsfield; The Journal-News, Hillsboro.
General Excellence: 1. Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 2. O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; 3. Leader Union, Vandalia; Honorable Mention -- Pike Press, Pittsfield.
Large Daily Newspapers
General Excellence: 1. The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale.
Submitted Entry Winners
Best Feature Story: 1. Becky Malkovich, “Interview with a murderer,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. Fred Pollard, “Bethalto Marine loses both legs, survives,” The Telegraph, Alton; 3. Dave Ambrose, “Biker Church,” South County News, Gillespie; Honorable Mention – Matt Hawkins, “A Soldier’s Story,” Daily Republican, Marion; Wayne Utterback, “Shooting without limitations,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; Teri Maddox, “Reaching Out to the Homeless,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; Bonnie Clark, “A Fad for Fowl,” Journal Gazette, Mattoon.
Best Education Story: 1. George Pawlaczyk, Maria Baran, “ESL schools pay $2 million for educational consultants,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; 2. Wayne Utterback, “Representatives target unfunded school mandates,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; 3. Scott Cousins, “A chocolate milk balancing act,” Suburban Journals, Collinsville; Honorable Mention – Scott Cousins, “School supply lists balloon as districts cut back,” Suburban Journals, Collinsville; Shannon Woodworth, “How does a college grow” The Independent, Herrin; Dan Twomey, “What we are building is quality,” The Courier, Carterville; Tom Barker, “With state finances a mess, so are schools,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Bill Grimes, “Jasper superintendent, parents discuss future of Unit 1 schools,” Effingham Daily News, Effingham; Corey Saathoff, “State financial woes expected to hurt area school districts,” Republic-Times, Waterloo.
Best Editorial Column: 1. Mike Plunkett, “A Coward Would Save Himself First When His Ship Is Sinking,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; 2. Dave Ambrose, “Main Street feels recession,” South County News, Gillespie; 3. Editorial Board, “Taxpayers deserve an action plan for accounting deficiencies,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Honorable Mention -- Dennis Grubaugh, “Murder speaks to a crisis of culture,” The Telegraph, Alton; Dave Bell, “Motown finally admits obvious,” The Leader-Union, Vandalia; Editorial Board, “Twice burned by the feds, it’s time for Coles to end this partnership,” Journal Gazette, Mattoon; Gary Metro, “No time for battles; unity is needed,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Christine Walsh, “Village board should keep open mind about chickens,” The County Star, Tolono.
Best News Story: 1. Brian Brueggemann, Mike Fitzgerald, “Tax buyers, politicians benefit from tax sales,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; 2. Cathy Thoele, “Fire destroys landmark,” Effingham Daily News, Effingham; 3. Jim Merkel, “Hoping for more deliveries,” Suburban Journals, Collinsville; Honorable Mention -- Rich Bauer, “Motown's check returned,” The Leader-Union, Vandalia; Kevin Kilhoffer, “Teen accused of arson in Greenup factory fire,” Journal Gazette, Mattoon; Stephen Rickerl, “Carnage on I-57,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale.
Best News Photo: 1. Jim Bowling, “Man stabbed, suspect captured,” The Telegraph, Alton; 2. John Badman, “Vigil honors slaying victim,” The Telegraph, Alton; 3. Zia Nizami, “An Icy Rescue,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; Honorable Mention -- Steve Nagy, “Lane: Not Guilty,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; Becky Malkovich, “Cool comes at cost -- Brylee Schofield peeks out of house,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Alan Rogers, “Carnage on I-57,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Daniel Winningham, “McCann Seizes Win,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; John Swistak, “Safety Checkpoint,” Suburban Journals, Collinsville.
Best Sports Photo: 1. Dave Trinka, “Two more firsts for boys track,” Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta; 2. Jim Bowling, “The Nth Degree,” The Telegraph, Alton; 3. Josh Brown, “Maroons march on to Class 2A Final Four,” Robinson Daily News, Robinson; Honorable Mention -- Steve Nagy, “Happy Sack,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; Jeff Egbert, “Fantastic Move,” Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; Bob Haentzler, “Concentration,” Monroe County Independent, Columbia; Daniel Winningham, “Dixon helps South Rally at All-Star game,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville.
Best Photo Essay: 1. John Swistak, Jr., “An embrace 10 Months in the making,” Suburban Journals, Collinsville; 2. Keith Gillett, “Optimists' Rodeo,” Mascoutah Herald, Mascoutah; 3. Jay Grabiecm “Blood, Sweat & Gears,” Journal Gazette, Mattoon; Honorable Mention -- Keith Gillett, “What a Surprise,” Mascoutah Herald, Mascoutah; Paul Newton, “A Place at State,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Debby Stricker, “Words of Comfort,” Okawville Times, Okawville; Lonnie Hinton, “Salute to Robert Harner,” Vienna Times, Vienna; Jim Bowling, “Messengers of power,” The Telegraph, Alton; Zia Nizami, “Children are this man’s life,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; Steve Nagy, “A thing of beauty,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; Dan Twomey, “Relax, it’s only a drill,” The Courier, Carterville; Dave Trinka, “Chalk Artists,” Sparta News Plaindealer, Sparta.
Best Feature Photo: 1. Steve Nagy, “A Terrifying Encounter,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; 2. Derik Holtmann, “Chili Genie,” Belleville News-Democrat; 3. Wayne Utterback, “Looking Ahead to competition,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; Honorable Mention -- John Swistak, Jr, “Finally, Summer Vacation,” Suburban Journals, Collinsville; Bobby Samat, “Colors of the Wind/Carterville Intermediate’s Got Talent Competition,” The Courier, Carterville; Paul Newton, “Is it…too hot to swim?” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Christine Walsh, “The magical world of science,” The County Star, Tolono.
Best Website: 1. Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; 2. The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 3. The Telegraph, Alton; Honorable Mention -- Suburban Journals, Collinsville.
Community Service: 1. Tom Barker, Becky Malkovich, Schott Fitzgerald, Caleb Hale, Gary Metro, “Disaster Looming? Officials: Levees bound to fail,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. George Pawlaczyk, Beth Hunsdorfer, “Menard guard gets $1.5 million in worker’s compensation,” Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville; 3. Daniel Winningham, “Shop Local Promotion begins,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Honorable Mention -- Dan Brannan, Ande Yakstis, “Veteran's Voices,” The Telegraph, Alton; Samantha Newburn, Donna Riley-Gordon, “Government Changes,” Effingham Daily News, Effingham.
Best Charlie Feirich Original Column: 1. Jeff Egbert, “Around Town,” Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 2. Bill Lair, “Thompson’s ‘promise’ to 3 kids eclipsed 1951 playoff ‘shot,” Journal Gazette, Mattoon; 3. Kyle Herschelman, “Getting Out of the Vehicle,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; Pavel Slepicka, “My New Home,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; Les Winkeler, “What was the best shot of the Master’s?,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Donna Riley-Gordon, “You have a right to know,” Effingham Daily News, Effingham; Donna Riley-Gordon, “Definition of dedication: Jean Voelker,” Effingham Daily News, Effingham; Debby Stricker, “A Mother’s Day wish,” Okawville Times, Okawville; Louise Jett, “Sharing her dreams,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville.