The Elgin Review newspaper was recipient of four awards from the Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Nebraska Press Association.
The awards were announced Saturday night at the closing banquet of the annual convention which was held this year at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln.
Judged by members of the Iowa Press Association, the awards were for advertising, spot news and photography which appeared in the newspaper between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
“We’re honored to be recognized by our peers for the work we do,” Publisher Dennis Morgan said. “We want to provide the best paper to our readers and these awards signify that we’re accomplishing that goal.”
The newspaper received two first place awards. The first was for Best Series of Ads, Black & White. The series was a celebration of 75 years of service to the community by the Bank of Elgin prepared for publication by co-publisher Lynell Morgan. In awarding the Review the first place award, the judges said, “Consistency of headline and logo, teamed with outstanding graphics and trivia makes this series nearly impossible to ignore. Great job!”
The other first place award was for sports news photography. The photo (pictured adjacent to this story) was of the Wolfpack football team players Evan Parks and Corey Schindler bringing down a Burwell ball carrier. It was taken by Dennis Morgan. The judges said, “The best in an exceedingly difficult category. Crisp action, up close and personal, it takes the reader into the game. Excellent capture.”
A second place award was received for best small ad, black and white. The ad was for the Elgin Swimming Pool. “It jumps out at you and makes you check it out,” the judge said. “It makes me want to have my kids take swimming lessons if I had kids.”
The newspaper also received a third place award for spot news coverage. The story was of a one-vehicle accident south of Elgin on Highway 14 which involved a truck belonging to the Nebraska Department of Roads. Two occupants were severely injured in the accident, one requiring a medical helicopter to transport him to Faith Regional in Norfolk. Judges comments about the article were, “Good narrative about a bad accident. The addition of the photo is good for illustrating how bad the damage was.”
“We feel the Elgin Review has improved significantly from where it was four years ago when we purchased it and we continue to be encouraged by the many positive comments we receive from our readers,” Morgan said.
More than 4,100 separate entries, representing 13 dailies and 79 weeklies, were judged by members of the Iowa Newspaper Association. First, second and third place winners were announced Saturday night at an Awards Banquet at the Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln, where more than 200 journalists attended.
