The Jefferson County Leader brought home 29 awards from the annual Missouri Press Association convention, held Sept. 24-25 in Excelsior Springs. The paper earned eight first-place awards, five seconds, 10 thirds and six honorable mentions in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest.
At the meeting, the Leader also collected 15 Missouri Press Advertising and Marketing Executives annual contest awards for the newspaper’s advertising efforts.
The advertising awards previously had been announced and reported in a Leader story.
Peggy Scott, the Leader assistant publisher, said she was pleased with all the awards.
“The Leader prides itself on doing quality work every day,” Scott said. “Awards are a nice compliment and a reminder about the importance of local journalism in our community.”
Judy Dixon, the Leader’s recently retired and Missouri Press Association Hall of Fame cartoonist, won three awards in the Better Newspaper Contest. The judge for her first-place honor wrote: “Killed it … truth in lead and ink!”
Below is a list of other newsroom awards. Not all judges included comments.
First Place
■ Best columnist, serious: Peggy Bess.
■ Best sports feature photograph: Ron Rigdon for his photo of wrestler Gavin Alexander. Judges said, “The look of joy and triumph on one wrestler’s face, contrasted with the look of dejection on the other wrestler’s face, makes this shot the winner in this category. It sure doesn’t hurt that the photo is lit just right and is well-composed. (But that nice composition would have disappeared if that dejected wrestler was any farther to the right!) Well-done!”
■ Best coverage of government: Steve Taylor for his story, “Sheriff buys riot gear.” Judges said, “Timely and well-written piece. Uses quotes and attribution to let the principals state the facts. Also addresses potential concerns.”
■ Best story about religion: Laura Marlow for her story “Silent Night: A little night music.” Judges said, “Historical insight on one of our favorite Christmas songs.”
■ Best military story: Laura Marlow for her story, “Space Force.” Judges said, “Interesting story with enough context and background to deliver its uniqueness.”
■ Best editorial cartoon: Judy Dixon for “Cousin Philomena.” Judges said, “Killed it...truth in lead and ink!”
■ Best newspaper in education project: Peggy Scott and staff for the Leader Art and Science Challenge.
■ Best health story: Laura Marlow for “You First! Preemie twins born.”
Second place
■ Best editorial pages: Staff.
■ Best columnist, serious: Gordon Bess.
■ Best business story: Gordon Bess for “Sew far, sew good.” Judges said, “This is well-done and a very interesting topic. Great job from beginning to end. It held my interest throughout. Keep up the good work.”
■ Best story about religion: Steve Taylor for “Pilot of the airwaves.” Judges said, “Interesting - podcast preacher carving out a niche during COVID.”
■ Best story about education: Laura Marlow for “Gleaming auditorium seats.” Judges said, “What came from punishment led to ownership. Great story.”
Third place
■ Best COVID-19 coverage: Leader staff. Judges said, “Good, solid community coverage - everything readers need to know.”
■ Best headline writing: Leader staff.
■ Best columnist, humorous: Peggy Bess. Judges said, “This writer has a unique viewpoint and lots of fans, I’ll bet.”
■ Best columnist, serious: Laura Marlow.
■ Best sports columnist: Russell Korando for “The County Line.”
■ Best news or special section: Laura Marlow and staff for “Salute to veterans.”
■ Best military story: Tony Krausz for “Homes for the holidays.” Judges said, “Showed why these homes matter, that they’re not just a gift for service but allow former service members to have productive, loving civilian lives.”
■ Best editorial cartoon: Judy Dixon for “Must not touch.” Judges said, “Excellent supporting art that stands alone in telling story.”
■ Best news or feature obituary: Steve Taylor for “Howard Wagner.” Judges said, “Great look inside an interesting community member as well as an important message.”
■ Best health story: Laura Marlow for “At the forefront.”
Honorable mention
■ Best news or feature obituary: Laura Marlow for “Life Story: Robert E. ‘Bob’ Smith.” Judges said, “This judge wishes there were more writers with the ability to show and not tell.”
■ Best feature story: Katelyn Mary Skaggs for “Doodle-do.”
■ Best story about the outdoors: Laura Marlow for “Uh Oh: Trapped in Chile.” Judges said, “Nicely written. Marlow doesn’t get in the way of the story, uses lots of quotes, provides interesting perspective on that rare thing: a charming and upbeat COVID story. The enticing photos sure don’t hurt, either.”
■ Best story about history: Laura Marlow for “World citizen.”
■ Best editorial cartoon: Judy Dixon for “Here you go.” Judges said: “Clever, clever, art.”
■ Best health story: Laura Marlow for “Cancer tattoo.”