Twenty-one awards recognizing excellence in all facets of newspaper production were bestowed upon The Elgin Review Saturday night.
Results of the annual Better Newspaper Contest, judged by the North Carolina Press Association, were announced at Saturday night’s banquet held at the Crowne Plaza Convention Center.
Newspaper publishers from across the state were in attendance.
“Each year the Nebraska Press Association holds a contest to recognize top achievers in advertising, photography and reporting as well as newspaper production,” Co-Publisher Dennis Morgan said. “The Elgin Review strives weekly to provide a newspaper our subscribers can be proud to call their own.”
The contest is divided into four divisions for weekly newspapers and one division for daily newspapers. Altogether, there were 1,983 separate entries for judges to review.
The Review received seven first place awards. They were:
• Advertising Campaign — A series of ads for Dean’s Market. Judges said, “Excellent theme, use of color, chalk-boards ad attractiveness. A whimsical theme demands to be read.”
• Single Ad Color — Girls Basketball ‘good luck’ ads from parents. Judge’s Comments: “Fun layout with lots of nice touches like the basketball hearts. The trading cards are great, good color throughout.”
• Sports Column — ‘Spinning Tales’ column. “Great blend of local sports history juxtaposed against national history for relative points. Too, the local blend of sports paints a portrait and timeline of community that offers more insight into what the area’s sports offerings mean to the community’s members. To encapsulate and intertwine the nation’s history along with the fleeting seasons of sports is truly masterful,” the judge said.
• Photo Page — A grouping of photos taken at the Antelope County Fair. Judge’s Comments: “Very enjoyable page and layout. The photographers were able to capture great expressions or happiness, concentration and anticipation on the faces of the participants, showing the essence of the county fair.”
• Use of Color (News) — Front page design
• Building Circulation — An ad entitled ‘Catch A Deal’ for newspaper renewals. Judge’s Comments: “Love the message, the offer, and most of all the outstanding design of this ad! Excellent job!”
Categories in which the newspaper received second place awards were:
• General Excellence — This awards recognizes all facets of several issues of the newspaper. “Strong local paper, your community is better because of you,” the judge said.
• Agricultural Advertisement — An ad designed for the Bank of Elgin
• Advertising Campaign — A series of ads running in consecutive weeks promoting the Bank of Elgin
• Photo Page — A grouping of photographs celebrating Elgin’s Vetch Days celebration
• Youth Coverage — Spotlighting coverage of youth activities
• Editorial Page
• Use of Computer Graphics (produced in house)
Third place awards were for:
• Building Circulation
• Agricultural Advertisement
• Signature Page
• Advertising Campaign
• Personal Column
• Editorial
• Preserving Local History
“We don’t put out a paper just to receive awards,” Co-Publisher Lynell Morgan. “However, receiving recognition (through awards) tells us we’re producing a quality newspaper. We can’t be a quality newspaper without the support of our advertisers and our subscribers.”
