10/01/2006

Record-Eagle wins 'general excellence' award

Plus 10 additional awards for writing, photography and design

The Record-Eagle earned first place in "General Excellence" in its circulation category in the Michigan Press Association's 2006 "Better Newspaper" contest.

That honor is among six first-place awards received by the newspaper. Other top awards were for sports coverage, editorial writing, sports column writing, lifestyle sections and special sections.

Overall, the Record-Eagle won 11 awards for its content, including writing, photography and design. In addition, the newspaper was runner-up to the Jackson Citizen Patriot for the MPA's "Newspaper of the Year" honor. The R-E received 960 points; Jackson received 980.

This is the third consecutive year the Record-Eagle placed first or second in the "Newspaper of the Year" competition. It won the honor in 2005 (read the winning 2005 entries here). In 2004, the R-E also received the MPA's statewide award for "Public Service" reporting.

The judges were members of the Illinois Press Association.

The Record-Eagle competes in the 15,000 to 40,000 circulation classification. Statewide, the competition included 4,115 entries from 138 daily and weekly newspapers.

Below you'll find the comprehensive list of the Record-Eagle's awards, complete with the judge's comments and links to the award-winning entries when possible.

General Excellence - 1st Place

Judge's Comments: Consistently good from front to back. Strong photo packages, interesting features and good leads of news make paper a great reader piece. Especially liked on-the-spot Katrina coverage.

Editorial Writing - 1st Place

EDITORIALS BY MIKE TYREE, NEWS EDITOR

• Drop the pants, or we'll put on the cuffs
• Judges seem to get benefit of the doubt
• L&P's European junket a waste of taxpayer cash
• Tondu decision a win for grass-roots efforts
• Someone else is always taking a fall for Cheney

Judge's Comments: This guy should be working for the comedy channel, where his skills in sarcasm could be even better demonstrated. He's an intelligent writer who doesn't need to rely on big words to make his point, but he's not all about laughs - his piece about the trustees is a sign he has picked up on a trend all journalists should worry about - government centralizing the flow of information to the public.

Lifestyle Pages - 1st Place

This entry consisted of three non-consecutive feature sections. We do not have the entire sections online.

Judge's Comments: Diversity of topics from one day to the next. Reader-driven content. Solid if unexceptional design makes this the class of the group.

Sports Coverage - 1st Place

This entry consisted of three non-consecutive sports sections. We do not have the entire sections online, but you can see the photo illustration referenced in the judges comments here: Manton's decision may alter league alignments.

Judge's Comments: Strong design enhances section, good use of photos. Photo illustration really makes "Domino Effect" a strong feature/analysis. Good mix of prep coverage, pro and college.

Sports Columnist - 1st Place

BY JAMES COOK

• It's 'so far, so good' for Detroit; City overcomes skeptical public
• Big game comes after big storm: Three players impacted by Katrina
• Detroit warms to winning Steelers

Judge's Comments: Cook's easy-to-read style and humorous touch highlighted this category. A good mix of topics also stood out.

Special Section - 1st Place

The Record-Eagle's entry was a special section from April, 2005 on the life and death of Pope John Paul II. You can see the online version here: Remembering a Life of Faith.

Judge's Comments: A well-done commemorative of the life of Pope John Paul II.

Sports Writing - 2nd Place

• State Champs! Kingsley rallies to win crown by Jeff Peek

Judge's Comments: Found an interesting and once-in-a-lifetime angle and tied it all together from beginning to end.

Feature Story - 2nd Place

• By children, against children by Becky Kalajian

Judge's Comments: Chilling account of a type of crime that's more common than most would think. Good job of bringing that home and really getting the mother to honestly relay her feelings.

Design - 3rd Place

Judge's Comments: Cool masthead. Nice typography. Effective use of white space and color.

Feature Picture - 3rd Place

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Blue, a miniature dachshund, is dwarfed by Michael Zubak and Duke, a 172-pound Great Dane, during an afternoon walk in downtown Traverse City. Zubak is caring for the dogs while their owners are moving.

• Big dog, little dog, by Tyler Sipe

Judge's Comments: Shows what paying attention will bring to a patient photographer. Excellent play contributes to this winner.

Enterprise Reporting - 3rd Place

• Road trips take toll on college By Tom Carr

Judge's Comments: This look at college officials' travel budget holds them accountable for possible frivolous spending.