May 04, 2012
Newspaper association announces contest winners
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Newspapers throughout central and Southern Illinois earned recognition during the annual meeting of the Southern Illinois Editorial Association held April 27 at Giant City Lodge near Carbondale.
The SIEA 2012 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 graduate students to select winners for all of this year’s contests.
The contest was for entries published in 2011.
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 (20,000 and under), and Division D -- large dailies (over 20,000).
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. 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, best 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. Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 2. The Virden Recorder, Virden; 3. The Herald, Mascoutah. Honorable mention -- Goreville, Gazette Goreville; The Courier, Carterville.
Best Newspaper Design: 1. The Herald, Mascoutah; 2. The Courier, Carterville; 3. The Virden Recorder, Virden.
Best Use of Photography: 1. The Virden Recorder, Virden; 2. The Herald, Mascoutah; 3. The Courier, Carterville. Honorable mention -- Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem.
Best Editorial Page: 1. The Herald, Mascoutah; 2. Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 3. The Courier, Carterville.
Advertising Excellence: 1. The Herald, Mascoutah; 2. The Virden Recorder, Virden; 3. Goreville Gazette, Goreville. Honorable mention -- Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem; The Courier, Carterville.
Best Local Sports Coverage: 1. The Herald, Mascoutah; 2. Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem; 3. Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville. Honorable mention -- The Virden Recorder, Virden.
General Excellence: 1. The Herald, Mascoutah; 2. Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 3. The Courier, Carterville. Honorable mention -- The Virden Recorder, Virden; Edwards County Times Advocate, West Salem.
Small Daily Newspapers
Best Local News Coverage: 1. Morning Sentinel, Centralia; 2. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville; 3. Daily News, Robinson. Honorable mention -- Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; The Daily Republican, Marion.
Best Newspaper Design: 1. The Daily Republican, Marion; 2. Daily News, Robinson; 3. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville. Honorable mention -- Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; Morning Sentinel, Centralia.
Best Use of Photography: 1. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville; 2. The Daily Republican, Marion; 3. Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon. Honorable mention -- Daily News, Robinson; Morning Sentinel, Centralia.
Best Editorial Page: 1. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville; 2. Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; 3. Morning Sentinel, Centralia. Honorable mention -- The Daily Republican, Marion; Daily News, Robinson.
Advertising Excellence: 1. The Daily Republican, Marion; 2. Daily News, Robinson; 3. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville. Honorable mention -- Morning Sentinel, Centralia; Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon.
Best Local Sports Coverage: 1. Morning Sentinel, Centralia; 2. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville; 3. Daily News, Robinson. Honorable mention -- Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; The Daily Republican, Marion; Daily Republican, Marion.
General Excellence: 1. Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville; 2. Morning Sentinel, Centralia; 3. The Daily Republican, Marion. Honorable mention -- Daily News, Robinson; Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon.
Large Weekly Newspapers
Best Local News Coverage: 1. Republic Times, Waterloo; 2. The Metropolis Planet, Metropolis; 3. The Navigator & Journal Register, Albion. Honorable mention -- O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville.
Best Newspaper Design: 1. Republic Times, Waterloo; 2. The Freeburg Tribune, Freeburg; 3. O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon. Honorable mention -- The Navigator & Journal Register, Albion; Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; The Leader-Union, Vandalia.
Best Use of Photography: 1. Republic-Times, Waterloo; 2. O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; 3. Monroe County Independent, Columbia. Honorable mention -- The Freeburg Tribune, Freeburg; Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville.
Best Editorial Page: 1. Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 2. Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; 3. Pike Press, Pittsfield. Honorable mention -- O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; Republic Times, Waterloo; The Leader-Union, Vandalia.
Advertising Excellence: 1. Republic-Times, Waterloo; 2. The Leader-Union, Vandalia; 3. Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville. Honorable mention -- The Navigator & Journal Register, Albion; The Metropolis Planet, Metropolis; Carbondale Times, Carbondale; O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon.
Best Local Sports Coverage: 1. The Journal-News, Hillsboro; 2. O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; 3. Republic-Times, Waterloo. Honorable mention -- The Leader-Union, Vandalia; The Navigator & Journal Register, Albion; The Metropolis Planet, Metropolis.
General Excellence: 1. Republic-Times, Waterloo; 2. O’Fallon Progress, O’Fallon; 3. Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville. Honorable mention -- The Leader-Union, Vandalia.
Large Daily Newspapers
General Excellence: 1. The Alton Telegraph, Alton; 2. The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale.
Submitted Entry Winners
Best Feature Story: 1. Becky Malkovich, “Tamed By The Wild -- Artist Time West finds peace in nature,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. Beth Zumwalt, “Chestnut Ridge is labor of love,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; 3. Becky Malkovich, “The blackest, saddest Christmas,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. Honorable mention -- Brandon Weisenberger, “Remember the Spanish Key: A City Hall Love Story,” Carbondale Times, Carbondale; Bonnie Clark, “The past restored,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier,” Mattoon; Mary Koester, “Red Bud dog to be a Broadway Star,” North County News, Red Bud; Patrick Seil, “Valor in combat recognized 65 years later,” The Navigator & Journal Register, Albion; Dan Brannan, “Cherished Name Bracelet Finally Finds Its Man,” The Telegraph, Alton; Josh Brown, Concussion testing promotes player safety,” Daily News, Robinson; Krista Wilkinson-Midgley, “Project Restore,” Edwardsville Intelligencer-The Edge, Edwardsville.
Best Editorial: 1. Gary Metro, “Get rid of mystery voters in Alexander County!” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. Mike Plunkett, “Public Notices Belong In Print,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; 3. Donnie Grubaugh, “Governor brought us national shame,” The Telegraph, Alton. Honorable mention -- Editorial Board, “It’s your business and you have a right to know,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Dave Bell, “Blagojevich pleas too little, too late,” The Leader-Union, Vandalia.
Best News Photo: 1. Jeff Egbert, “Heartbreaking,” Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 2. Kevin Kilhoffer, “Veteran tribute,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; 3. Tom Compton, “Untitled,” Daily News, Robinson. Honorable mention -- Ken Trevarthan, “A great sacrifice,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; Steve Jahnke, “Brace yourself: More on the way” (Colten Titsworth photo), The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Pavel Slepicka, “Mother Nature Puts On An Electrifying Show,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; Staff, “Fire destroys coliseum,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Kermit Constantine, “Woman, dog rescued from icy pond,” Republic-Times, Waterloo; Alan Rogers, “Fire destroys antique mall, opera house,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; “2011 CHS Prom,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Bryan Hunt, “Intersection Accident,” Morning Sentinel, Centralia.
Best Photo Essay: 1. Jeff Egbert, Jessica Holder, Nate Fisher, “Opera House and Antique Mall Fire,” Pinkneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 2. Michele Longworth and Clyde Wills, “Aqua Armageddo -- May 18, 2011,” The Metropolis Planet, Metropolis; 3. Jeff Egbert, “Paving the Way!” Pinkneyville Press, Pinckneyville. Honorable mention -- Keith Gillett, “A tense night on Main Street,” The Herald, Mascoutah; Steve Buhman, “Making new memories,” The Courier, Carterville; Staff, “Gone Fishin,'” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; Kevin Kilhoffer, “Farm fun,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon.
Best Website: 1. The Telegraph, Alton, www.thetelegraph.com 2. Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon, jg-tc.com/ 3. The Journal-News, Hillsboro, www.thejournal-news.net/ Honorable mention – Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville, www.enquirerdemocrat.com.
Best Education Story: 1. Becky Malkovich, “Single Parents on Campus,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. Dave Fopay, “Superintendents detail Lovington-Arthur options in school annexation referendum,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; 3. Linda N. Weller, “Classes spark students’ career interests,” The Telegraph, Alton. Honorable mention -- Kyle Herschelman, “Cornerstone Key To Area Special Ed Needs,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; Herb Meeker, “Set Up For Failure,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; William Bateman, “Students, family show support,” The Courier, Carterville; Robert Lyons, “Repeal of district realignment fails,” Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; Linda N. Weller, “Voc ed giving way to jobs of future,” The Telegraph, Alton.
Best News Story: 1. Robert Lyons, “Hair color causes stir on first day of school,” Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 2. Bill Swinford, “Tragic death in front of hall mars downtown Christmas festivities,” The Independent, Herrin; 3. Mary Koester, “LST 325 is the focus of luncheon,” North County News, Red Bud. Honorable mention -- Brent Stewart and Codell Rodriguez, “He cannot be forgotten,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; Beth Zumwalt, “Land prices rising throughout central Illinois,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; Randy Harrison, “It's ‘up to the community’ to keep PO open,” Daily News, Robinson; Linda Buhman, “Carterville says goodbye to a special hero,” The Courier, Carterville.
Best Sports Photo: 1. Alan Rogers, “Terriers’ County: Carbondale’s Tyrell Robinson,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. Bob Haentzler, “4-6-3 Double Play,” Monroe County Independent, Columbia; 3. Staff -- Daniel Winningham, “5-0 loss to Quincy Notre Dame ends soccer season,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville. Honorable mention -- Kyle Herschelman, “Luck-N-Buck Hosts IJRA Junior Rodeo,” The Journal-News, Hillsboro; Robert Lyons, “Collision Course,” Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; Daniel Winningham -- Staff, “Girls basketball picture,” Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Carlinville; Keith Gillett, “Pondering his next move,” The Herald, Mascoutah; Duane Crays, “We Are The Champions,” The Navigator & Journal Register, Albion; Travis Sloan, “Gunterman hits game-winner, Lady Wolves stumble,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; Jeff Egbert, “C.C.S.D. #204 Claims State Championship!” Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville.
Best Feature Photo: 1. Jeff Egbert, “Heartbreaking,” Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; 2. Wayne Utterback, “Pond-ering the Drought,” Pike Press, Pittsfield; 3. Keith Gillett, “Playing with the big guys,” The Herald, Mascoutah. Honorable mention -- Jessica Holder, “Local Storm Damage,” Pinckneyville Press, Pinckneyville; Mary Koester, “Holiday Happenings – Santa’s in town,” North County News, Red Bud; Dave Bell, “One of the cowboys participating in the C-Bar Rodeo…,” The Leader-Union, Vandalia; Tom Kane, “Arrow-straight,” The Daily Republican, Marion; Alan Rogers, “First visit to the park,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale.
Best Community Service: 1. Robert Lyons, “Stadium Theatre Saved,” Jersey County Journal, Jerseyville; 2. All Staff, “Work Wanted,” Journal Gazette & Times Courier, Mattoon; 3. Beth Zumwalt, “No toys or clothes in this year’s Christmas Baskets,” Pike Press, Pittsfield.
Charles Feirich Original Column Competition: 1. Gary Metro, “Impact of silence is deafening, tragic,” The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; 2. Dan Brannan, “Returning dad’s good deed at the World Series,” The Telegraph, Alton; 3. Pete Hayes, “We could use more coaches like our own 'Joe Pa,'” The Telegraph, Alton. Honorable mention -- David Schauer, “Playing dead for rescue dogs,” Morning Sentinel, Centralia.