NLJ claims nine awards
Bri Weigel
NLJ Correspondent
The National Newspaper Association Foundation recently released results for the 2021 Better Newspaper Contest and Better Newspaper Advertising Contest, and the News Letter Journal brought home nine awards, including a first-place general excellence award.
According to an NNA press release, “a total of 509 awards were won by 83 member newspapers in 33 states.” While the Iowa Newspaper Association earned the “Best of NNA” award with 74 winning entries, an honor Wyoming won in 2020, the Cowboy State still stood strong with a second-place finish. Wyoming earned 66 awards, ahead of third-place Texas with its 44 wins.
“I’m incredibly proud of our staff. You don’t win a national championship every day, and I hope these awards help people recognize how much of a blessing they are to the community,” said Bob Bonnar, publisher and co-owner of the News Letter Journal. “Because of their talent and dedication, Newcastle and Weston County can depend on having a newspaper that rivals those in communities much larger than ours in terms of both quality and service.”
Matt Adelman, publisher of the Douglas Budget and Glenrock Independent, as well as being president of the NNAF, congratulated the News Letter Journal staff on its wins. According to Adelman, NNAF is the new educational arm of NNA. NNAF is in charge of the contest, convention, educational training and community outreach. Adelman explained the impact of award-winning news for the publication’s community.
“I think it validates the fact that they (community members) already view you as a good newspaper, or it proves to them that you are a good newspaper,” Adelman said. “Exposure reinforces the fact that they know you’re doing a good job and that other people can see that too.”
The News Letter Journal staff won two first-place awards this year, one in the general excellence category for non-daily publications with a circulation of less than 3,000. The judge commented on its strong use of photography and a variety of news.
“To be recognized nationally for the work that our small team does every week is very rewarding. We have a small, but mighty team that I am thankful for and very proud of. We greatly appreciate all the support from this community, and we thank you for sharing your lives and stories with the NLJ. These awards would not be possible without this community’s support through advertising and readership,” said Kim Dean, account manager and managing editor of the News Letter Journal.
Adelman said Wyoming placed first and third in general excellence, as the Glenrock Independent took third place, a feat he deemed “pretty impressive for the top award.” Adelman added that Wyoming sets high standards for journalism, especially when compared with states that have many more publications.
“We push each other, and we set the bar really high,” Adelman said.
Alexis Barker and Dean also won first place in the Freedom of Information Act category for their story that exposed cost overruns in the new game warden station, according to Bonnar.
“The icing on the cake this year is most definitely taking first in both the freedom of information category and general excellence for small weeklies. The freedom of information award is especially exciting because of the hard work and lots of time Kim and I both put in on the stories, and it was an open category, putting us against papers of all sizes across the nation,” said Barker, a reporter and news editor for the News Letter Journal.
Reporter Walter Sprague won second place in the story series for best non-profile feature story for his entry titled, “Saving Lucy.” Barker also won two awards in the story series for best health story with a third-place finish for her work on an entry titled, “Polio to COVID, ” and an honorable mention for her story on staff cuts at the hospital. The staff took third place for best use of photographs in an open category. Staff member Siri Karr also won a third-place award for best classified section.
Amy Menerey, who designs pages and advertisements for the News Letter Journal, won honorable mention for best front page design. Bonnar, along with his wife and co-owner, Stephanie Bonnar,
won honorable mention in an open category for the Community Service Award and their work on a project illustrating the Code of the West and COVID-19.
Winning national awards speaks to the strength of Wyoming news. Adelman said community newspapers are the most trusted news in small communities across the country. News that reflects local happenings that is produced locally means the market is understood, and the publication is not “just regurgitating information,” according to Adelman. He said those producing community news care about the community because they live there, too. Adelman also stressed the importance of trust between the community, the publication and individual reporters. If trust is compromised, he said, consumers will stop reading and the publication will suffer.
“Vetting news is critical, otherwise you get fake news. Without vetted, professional news that has been researched with multiple sources, then you end up with opinion, not news. And those opinions are often not true,” Adelman said of large media corporations. “Community newspapers don’t blur that clickbait line — opinion and news are clearly marked. They are vetted, so you can trust it.”