February 19, 2004

 

‘News’ receives 5 awards in contest for Ohio weeklies

The Yellow Springs News won five awards, including two first-place prizes, in the 2004 Osman C. Hooper Newspaper Show, the foremost contest for Ohio weekly newspapers.

The results of the contest were announced last Thursday during the Ohio Newspaper Association’s annual convention in Columbus. The association’s Weekly Newspaper Committee sponsored the contest, which included papers published between Aug. 1, 2002, and July 31, 2003.

Forty-two newspapers participated in the Hooper Show and were divided into three divisions based on total paid circulation. The News competed in the division for small weeklies with less than 2,407 circulation.

The News won two first-place awards, one second-place prize and two third-place awards. This is the fourth year in a row the News has received at least five awards in the Hooper Show.

The News received a first-place award for “Community Service” for its 2003 series on the history of Yellow Springs, “Yellow Springs: 1803 to 2003.” In the “Community Service” category, all entries were judged together, regardless of participating newspapers’ circulation.

The News’ 11-part series, published to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the settling of Yellow Springs, explored the history of the village through articles, timelines, photos and art. The judge in the “Community Service” category called the series “an inspiring, well-written, well-illustrated history that should appear in a bound volume to be enjoyed for generations to come. This series deserves to be preserved in Ohio’s historical records.”

The series featured contributions by News editor Robert Mihalek, reporters Diane Chiddister and Lauren Heaton and graphic designer Matt Minde; Antioch College students Evelyn La Croix and Brian Loudon, both of whom interned at the News last year; and Keira Phillip-Schnurer, who volunteered at the paper last fall and during part of the winter. Christie Lapitan, the advertising manager for the News, gathered sponsors for the project. Scott Sanders, the Antioch University archivist, contributed one article for the series.

For the third year in a row, the News won first place in the “Advertising” category, which was judged on overall design and content of paid advertising in a newspaper. The judge in this category said that the News’ ads showed “not just good design” but “good concepts paid off by good design.”

The News received a second-place prize in the “Special Editions or Sections” category for the 2002–03 “Guide to Yellow Springs.” The theme of the 2002–03 “Guide” revolved around growing up in Yellow Springs. It featured photographs of local children submitted by readers and seven essays written by local residents on childhood. The publication also included advertising and articles on the community’s many organizations and institutions.

The judge said that the “Guide” contained “elegant graphics and quality photographs.”

The News received third-place honors for “News Coverage” and “Design.” The judges in the “News Coverage” category said that the News had a “good range of coverage.” The judge highlighted the paper’s “strong use of feature elements” in a story by Chiddister on the return of buzzards to Yellow Springs, signaling the start of spring, and a story by Heaton recapping “Looking In, Looking Out,” the yearlong diversity arts project at Mills Lawn School. The “News Coverage” category was judged on the overall quantity and quality of community coverage.

The “Design” judge complimented the “simplicity of design” in the News, describing the paper as “Simple. Straightforward. Honest.” The “Design” category was judged on the look of a newspaper.

The 2004 Hooper Show included 11 total categories. Three awards were given in most categories, though honorable mention prizes were awarded in several categories. Most of the judges in the contest are journalism professors at Ohio colleges or universities.