LITTLE ROCK – The Nashville News-Leader received six first-place awards Saturday, July 22, at the Arkansas Press Association convention at the DoubleTree Hotel.
The paper also received three second-place awards, five for third place and two honorable mentions.
Entries were judged by members of the Mississippi Press Association. The News-Leader competes in the medium weeklies division.
First-place winners and judges’ comments include the following:
Sports news story, “State champions! Scrapperettes bring home first basketball title,” John R. Schirmer – “Great lead. Immediately pulled me into the drama of a championship game,” the judge said.
Sports feature story, “Scrapperette coach looks back on state championship season,” John R. Schirmer – “Great read. Love the lead, and the story really captures the excitement of a successful season.”
Single feature photo, “It’s all for OCC,” John R. Schirmer – “Good timing, good expression. Can’t get enough of pies in faces, especially at Vacation Bible School,” the judge said. The photo showed VBS worker Abbie Lamb getting a pie in the face at First United Methodist Church after youngsters exceeded their goal for Operation Christmas Child.
Community Coverage, Agriculture and Business, Louie Graves and John R. Schirmer – “I really enjoyed seeing in-depth coverage on a variety of businesses, and the stories were well written.”
Community Coverage, Education, John R. Schirmer – “Clearly, this newspaper cares about education and its importance to the community.”
Community Coverage, Health and Medical, Don Hall and John R. Schirmer – “Great job introducing these medical professionals to the community. The stories were well written and interesting.”
Second-place winners include the following:
Headline writing, “State champions! Scrapperettes bring home first basketball title,” John R. Schirmer –
“Catchy headline with a good local basketball team victory.”
Single sports feature photo, Reese Worthington tennis picture, John R. Schirmer – “Nice action photos on the page.”
Picture page photo essay, “Going to the state finals,” John R. Schirmer – “Love seeing the excitement on the players’ faces.”
Third-place winners include the following:
Freelance recognition, Early Files, Patsy Young – “Readers buy our newspapers to read these types of weekly features. The person who puts this together does a good job of finding a highlight with a photo. Good work here.”
Single news photo, “A tradition at the courthouse monument,” Louie Graves – “Nice photo with an explanatory caption. Good connection from picture to caption.”
Single sports feature photo, “Airborne” picture of players celebrating after touchdown, John R. Schirmer – “Again, nice package of photos.”
Best front page design, Louie Graves, Don Hall, John R. Schirmer – “I like this arrangement. Plenty of art to draw the eye to the different stories on the page, and a good diversity in the story selection.”
Digital presence and audience engagement, website and Facebook, Tracy Denny-Bailey, John Balch and Jon Chambers – “Really good-looking site.”
Honorable mentions include the following:
General interest column, “Flags at half staff. Mournful occasions are marked by lowered flag,” Louie Graves – Good column, expressed sincere interest for the history and gave description of each placement. Good job.”
Headline writing, “One of the good guys,” John R. Schirmer – Catchy headline and makes you really want to follow the story’s lead.”
The News-Leader received third place in APA’s General Excellence competition.
The Arkansas Press Association celebrated its 150th anniversary during the convention. It’s the state’s oldest trade association.
