Texas Press Association

Texas Press Association

Division 6 Weeklies 2,001 to 3,000
Division 7 Weeklies 1,201 to 2,000
Division 8 Weeklies 1,200 or Less 

Division 5 Weeklies 3,001 or more

General Excellence

1. Navasota, Examiner. You waste lots of space on your front page with layout in Christmas issue, but your layout on 2/29 was dynamite — great wreck picture. I’d use more “plain” text in subtext to break up all-black look. Sports page was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful I’d get more personal columns in the paper. This paper is too good to be true. Quotations are great!

2. Fort Worth, Business Press. Solid reporting, solid layout, very newsy. All you can ask for from a trade publication. The kind of publication that will take you hours to read. News content alone makes this a superior product.

3. Kerrville, Mountain Sun. My first impression was how thick your paper is. Your readers must love you. Good banner headline. You keep after that Kerrville police staff. Great editorial. Your paper is very aggressive. It would be the first paper I would pick up to read.

4. Rockdale Reporter. I like the shaded effect of your banner. Nice touch. Your publication is very newsy. Good local, editorials. Make headlines bigger. Good use of photos. Inside box a plus, but seems to be lost in the shuffle.

1. Madisonville Meteor. Terrific homecoming issue. A keepsake forever. Great use of ads!

2. Pleasanton Express. A wonderful section filled with history photos, ads, ad photos. Well done! Ads are terrific, showing great respect for the Cowboys.

3. Azle News. Really good section, great ads for Christmas greetings, good use of space and copy, very good for parents to read about their children and business for getting their Christmas message across. Overall ads are well designed too!

4. Navasota, Examiner. Wonderful visitors guide and shopping directory. I hope your Chamber and Realtors hand this fine edition out all year.

1. Duncanville Today, David Goodspeed. Great action shot, nice to see focus on people, not just flames.

2. Dallas, Park Cities People, Phil Stephens. Great action shot.

3. Pleasanton Express. Gerald Black. Good wreck photo. I’d have moved other stuff below photo inside and played more of story on page 1.

4. Kerrville, Mountain Sun. Nice expressions on kids’ faces. Close finishes in this category.

1. Duncanville Today. Color always helps, but photos and relationship to news strong without color. Excellent layout. Vision 96 helped out, but not deciding factor. 2/29, page 1 a bit cluttered, but rest strong. Very close!

2. Cameron Herald. News photos strongest! (including volleyball) well done. Not many strong fea­ture pics. Clean presentation throughout. Very closes

3. Colleyville News & Times. Excellent presentation.

4. Fort Stockton Pioneer. Among the best effort. Lacked dominance. Connection to news among best. Top group.

1. Azle News, Mark Campbell. Rock Run: Love the style that sounds like a runner talking in three-word bits. Lots of color. “Daniel”: Wow! Chilling column. Well done, well written.

2. Madisonville Meteor, Hank Hargrave. Past Ideas: Well done column. Feed room standoff: This is a neat column.

3. Burnet Bulletin, Brenda Sommer. Kleenex: Good, light column. Great style. Blah, Blah: Wonderful, warm column written with a very even, flowing style. Good stuff.

4. Azle News, Bob Buckel. Shade Tree Mechanic: Wonderful column. Nice, flowing style. Good humor. Last Things: Good column with lots of mood and atmosphere.

1. Robstown, Nueces County Record-Star, Sam Keach. Selfishness Threatens Fairground: This is a well-written piece with a strong argument for the complex. The editorial is logical in its development. It shows where the Nueces County Record-Star stands. City Manager: Strong writing. Good argu­ment presented. Makes the reader want to know what the response was. Very good.

2. Colleyville News & Times, Bruce Rider. Presidential Year: I thought there was a great lead, good development and good analysis. Well written. The Fathers’ Day: I thought showing a boy’s feelings toward his father was well done, well developed. Some good points were made.

3. Azle News, Bob Buckel. Let Community Determine: Good piece, good lead, well developed, strong language. Defends the policy well. Hornets: This is well done. Appropriate for community. Good writing.

4. Diboll Free Press, Mrs. Shepherd: Well-written piece about a longtime community resident. It shows that the lady was important to the community in the way she had lived her life. Good writing. Keep the Memory: This is a very well-written piece.

1. Dallas, Park Cities People. Mother’s Day: I really like your paper’s font size! Good pictures. Well written and concise. Pictures you used really helped tell your story. Great quotes too! Education: Very touching, the way the neighbors are pulling together to save their neighborhood. Great story, well written.

2. Jasper NewsBoy, Sherry Christiansen. Thunder Sniffs Out Drugs: Canine stories like this are very touching. It really shows their capabilities are beyond what we give them credit for, sometimes. Well written! Donna Price, Herman Wright Says “Retire” Is Just a Word: Misspelled Leavenworth. Nice use of quotes throughout your story. I like the way you gave his work-history. Very interesting and informative.

3. Houston, Jewish Herald Voice, Mike Haikin. Alexander’s Rocktime Band: Very interesting. Sounds like he is a very proud owner of the Rockets. Good Story! Alice Adams, B’nai B’rith Volunteers Create: Very touching. It’s great to see citizens volunteering. Stories like this are very encouraging. Good job.

4. Columbus, Colorado County Citizen, Tex Rogers. Michigan Couple Stranded: Sad but touching to see that fellow Americans reached out to lend some aid to them. Great story and ending! Sally Rogers: Surviving War: Great, touching feature. It really makes you want to reach out to victims of Gulf War syndrome. Good job!

1. Azle News. Great fire story, super lead into Vi’s retirement. Cemetery story kept me interested to the end. Nice mix of stories.

2. Clear Lake, Citizen. Nice, simple leads that told the story. Short, punchy articles. Video saga was great. You took it seriously, giving both sides a chance to explain. Strong NASA coverage, different slant from AP stuff we see.

3. Duncanville Today. Much stronger than your DeSoto entries. Shorter leads, particularly. Female firefighter story really great. Excellent handling of child’s murder and related stories.

4. Columbus, Colorado County Citizen. Nice awareness of community history, the what, who, etc., and photos of locals. Your larger stories could use one-word subheads to break up copy and encourage people to read the whole story.

1. Dallas, Park Cities People. Excellent sections and color, but be careful about too much color on front of 8/15 paper. Good, solid writing and a great overall effort. Pictures a plus, with good color pho­os used.

2. Austin, Westlake Picayune. Excellent entries. Inside sports pages all done to high standards. Very good entry.

3. Duncanville Today. Really good color photos but layout could have been much better. Layout on other pages much, much better. Good entry.

4. Pleasanton Express. Nice track coverage. Lots of facts. Good inside pages and pretty good photos. Put a frame or border on photos. It will help.

Division 6 Weeklies 2,001 to 3,000

General Excellence

1. Lancaster Today. Nice use of large, color photo for an entry point to the page. Content is good. Stories are very readable. This is a high-quality publication.

2. Marble Falls, River Cities Tribune. Good color reproduction and page 1 design. Stories are also interesting, but leads need to be tightened. Good effort.

3. Aransas Pass Progress. I like the use of photos in this newspaper. Design is relatively clean and content is interesting.

4. Austin, Lake Travis View. Nice, clean design and good use of photos, though they reproduce a little dark. Nice newspaper.

Advertising

1. Lancaster Today. Good variety in ads. Good small, medium and large ads. I didn’t like the clas­sified section. Some classified displays are distracting.

2. Lake Jackson, Brazorian News. Good variety in ads. I like the Sports Extra section, but why no cutlines or IDs? Classifieds are very readable. I like the church directory page, too. Overall good ads — not great — but good. More attention to creativity could lift you up a step.

3. Refugio County Advantage Press. Like the bank loan, 5/15, page 3. White space and ascending type sizes are eye-catching. Good use of photos (but reproduction of car photos, 10/30, is disappointing. Like the team spirit.

4. Marble Falls, River Cities Tribune. Christmas ads good and varied; car ads have excellent photos, good graphics.

Best Individual Photo

1. Austin, Lake Travis View, Susan Flowers. Roadside cross: Great pic. Really caught the mood.

2. Lancaster Today, Bobbie Jamison. Girl on swing: Captures attention, expression or girl. Great quality.

3. Henrietta, Clay County Leader. Overturned bus: Really captured expression. Lines move your eye to the focal point. Tech quality?

4. Lake Jackson, Brazorian News, Rick Tate. Pet therapy: Good picture. Expresses emotion. Quality needs work.

Best Use of Photos

1.Cedar Hill Today. Great pics. Nice range, showing events in community. Great, layout, putting a small pic in the dead space of a bigger pic.

2. Copperas Cove Leader-Press. Photos look great. Cutlines really tell the story. A few more action shots instead of the awards and players would improve creativity.

3. Deer Park Progress. Nice use of pics. Sometimes a bit washed out. Be careful that your creativity does not get in the way of the readers’ viewing.

4. Ballinger Ledger. More action shots and less of the posing. Makes boring pictures. Get in closer to the subject. Crop and enlarge for impact.

Column Writing

1. Copperas Cove Leader-Press, David G. Landman. Sidelong Glances: This is really fun column to read and well written.

2. Cedar Hill Today, Tom Beesley. Good columns. Nice development of topics.

3. Deer Park Progress, B.J. Morris-Power. Get a Grip: Nice column. Well written. Swift Justice: Powerful column.

4. Lake Jackson, Brazorian News, Melvin Edwards. “Black English” Has No Place as Legitimate Language: Good topical column. Texas Monthly Oversteps Boundaries With Irvin Cover: Good focus and perspective.

Editorials

1. Cedar Hill Today. Animal Shelter: Nice touch to mark the grand Opening of animal shelter. I would think it helped find those pets some homes. Let’s All Help: A good angle to show that economic development is more than just airports and major highways. Good call for Keep Cedar Hill Beautiful program.

2. Lancaster Today. Rejoice Celebration: Not too hard-hitting, but a nice celebration of community. Hold Trustees Accountable: Wow! Don’t sugarcoat it. Tell us how you really feel. I’d conclude that no one accused you of being a wimp on this one.

3. Marble Falls, River Cities Tribune. Think Before Drink: One of the better don’t drink and drive editorials I’ve read. Backs up emotional with actual facts about driving tests. Negotiate, Don’t Litigate: Good call for open meeting. But what does city want the money for? I don’t see how this could be a closed meeting, unless Texas law is less stringent.

4. Lake Jackson, Brazorian News. Kids’ Letters: Nice way to use the old standbys — letters to Santa — to make a point about Christmas spirit. Lake Jackson Continues: Growth and lower taxes sometimes aren’t possible together, but you point out the importance of good management for that to happen.

Feature Story

1.Cedar Hill Today, Kevin R. Balentine. Good story, well written. Made: Good lead.

2. Copperas Cove Leader-Press. Alicia: Heartbreaking story told tastefully. Copperas: Good story, quotes.

3. Austin, Lake Travis View, Susan Flowers. Time and Tide: Good scene setting to lead off story.

4. West News, Larry Knapek. Crash 100th Anniversary: Fascinating topic. A good read. Ida Rauschuber: Lead way to loud.

News Writing

1. Aransas Pass Progress. Very good, hard-hitting stories. Writing is solid. Content is thorough. You have a very interesting paper.

2. Marfa, Big Bend Sentinel. Writing is very well done and content is extremely newsy. This paper is using its resources well and putting out a good product.

3. Lancaster Today. This paper is very readable and the writing quality is high. Only suggestion is to tighten up the leads on stories.

4. Shepherd, San Jacinto News-Times. Good, newsy writing and content. Stories are concise.

Sports Coverage

1. Aransas Pass Progress. Really good writing. The photos need some help, but the writing more than earns this contest.

2. Cedar Hill Today. Good overall entry. Good writing skills. I enjoyed reading your entries.

3. Marble Falls, River Cities Tribune. Really great effort. I suggest you drop the 6-column format and go to four or five columns. The 3-column is too wide for readers. Nice entry.

4. Lake Jackson, Brazorian News. A strong entry. Use bigger headlines to grade the news. 

Division 7 Weeklies 1,201 to 2,000

General Excellence

1. Midlothian Today. Great paper. Some photos could use work. They should not be posed. Good coverage of community.

2. Albany News. Nice, clean front page. Good layout~ good use of pictures throughout paper.

3. Winnie, Hometown Press. Watch pictures either having dead space or too far sway. Good use of spot color. Overall, a pretty clean paper.

4. Pilot Point Post-Signal. Clean, well-designed front page. Nice use of photos. Why put out two tabs in same issue?

Advertising

1. Wimberley View. Liked the Josie & Belle ad repetition. Good variety of ads. Good use of white space. Good use of photos. Service directory is good. Like the bank ad, but list of services in June issue needs to be punched up.

2. Canadian Record. Good mix of ad styles. Good attention to details. Stronger type somewhere in Knight’s ad in December issue would add punch. Good graphics 2

3. Muenster Enterprise. Good graphics, good use of white space. Classified page needs attention. Like the. “Dear Season” ads — good idea. Good photo on Quicksilver Jewelry ad — made me want to go there! Grocery ads could use some more domi­nant areas.

4. Big Lake Wildcat. I like the 12 days of Christmas doubletruck. Good idea, good ads. Village ad punch.

Best Individual Photo

1. Canadian Record Last game: Sports always good for action and expression.

2. Palacios Beacon, Nick West. Towering inferno: Best news shot of the lot.

3. Muenster Enterprise, Janie Hartman. Water dropped: Photo moved me. I leaned with chopper.

4. Red Oak, North Ellis County Chronicle, Alan Gell. Snow: Top group. Snow has impact. Very close to placing (higher), but’4th place ain’t bad:

Best Use of Photos

1. Canadian Record. Excellent use of photos and page 1 play proves it. Diverse photos. Nice approach to cutlines. Border sets off photo. Sometimes the laser printer streaks, but overall, top effort. Enough action to offset occasional pose! Creative cutlines give the edge. Tough competition.

2. Springtown Epigraph. Helps to leave news to shoot, even if unfortunate. But good use of issues. Not afraid of large photos. Great! Consistent. Perhaps strongest use of news photos.

3. Albany News. Excellent presentation. Sets photos and cutlines apart. Consistent quality. Feature photos unsurpassed. Who is chasing ambulances for spot news photos?

4. Dublin Citizen. OK 12/24 issue. Fire well done. 12/12 photo shows kid’s emotion. Pig cutlines winner. Routine photos are, uh, routine. Better than most capturing emotion. Best mix of news and features. Traditional page 1 is best. A few too many posed photos for me, but still, an overall balanced effort.

Column Writing

1. Midlothian Today, R.L. Klemp. Child’s Christmas Tale: Best Christmas story of a big batch. In Nursing Home: Brutally honest. Thank you. Important.

2. Crane News, Skip Nichols. West Texas Talk, Letter: Quite moving. Made my heart ache. Children Hit: Too much for words. Took a lot to share this with readers.

3. Nocona News, Tracy R. Mesler. Strikeout Is County’s Loss: Great detail and insight. Finding and keeping good county prosecutors is a national rural problem. This took courage to write. Triple Winner Now Triple Loser: Again, a really good close-up and analysis of a small town problem. It’s real life and the explanations are excellent.

4. Canadian Record, Laurie Ezzell Brown. Field Notes: Picking up on ROT more than a year ahead of the rest of us says something good about columnist’s interest and attention paid to affairs. Camp Out: This was good treatment of what seems to be a trend among columnists: writing about their little children and grandchildren. “Nobody loves your child as much as you do” is a good saying to remember.

Editorials

1. Canadian Record. Blessedly Boring: Great touch! Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t exciting or controversial, but this treatment of the subject was true entertainment. Roach Approach: Another terrific editorial. Newspapers must call a spade a spade. You called a Roach a rat. Great job!

2. Castroville News-Bulletin. “No Idea” King Strikes Again: Way to put city administrator in his place. If he’s the only one who can talk to the press, he ought to work on his delivery. Thought and Discussion: A nice explanation of letter policy, importance of signed letters, why we write editorials and what readers should do about it.

3. Albany News. Best Foot Forward: A strong call for order tied in to a popular community event. Hospital Forum: You state the issue and ask for public involvement. It’s a good start, but since losing a hospital can be traumatic for a community, you need to more forcefully call for action.

(No fourth place awarded.)

Feature Story

1 Midlothian Today, Kristie Tucker. Chef Offers: Well done, good transition, great lead. Asthma: Also well done. Subjects very human.

2. Lake Dallas, Lake Cities Sun, Pat Abernathey. Wright Honored: Great lead, easy reading. Scott Montgomery, Lake Dallas Turns 70: Interesting story, well written.

3. Castroville News-Bulletin, Lou Ann Butler. Tradesman, Artist: Nice reading. Natalie Spencer, Cornfield Ballfield: Good description, captures mood of times.

4. Canadian Record, Robin L. Mitchell. Space Eggs: Didn’t anyone say anything? I liked this, but it needed more human element. Charles Huesel: Great piece of writing, really captures the guy.

News Writing

1. Springtown Epigraph. Really good writing. Very timely stories with good reporting of facts. A nice paper to read.

2. Pilot Point Post-Signal. Content is comprehensive; writing good and organized. Nice effort.

3. Midlothian Today. Writing is clear and concise. Stories are timely.

4. Crowley Star-Review. Good writing, very detailed. Keeps the reader reading.

Sports Coverage

1. Palacios Beacon Wow, you have the best space I’ve ever seen in a weekly and you don’t waste it. Roundups, standings and game-at-a-glance are valuable and well read. Too many weeklies don’t use them. Nice section!

2. Pilot Point Post-Signal. Nice-looking sports section. Best design I saw in weekly category. Agate results are a good touch too many weeklies ignore.

3. Springtown Epigraph. Good section. Some of the best writing I saw in this category. I like seeing a columnist in a weekly.

4. Winnie, Hometown Press. Season to Remember package is excellent, a great keepsake! You might look for ways to run basketball boxes smaller. They eat up a lot of space when there isn’t much to start with. Nice-looking section.

General Excellence

1. Presidio, International Paper. Great mix of news where international news is local news. Strong photos. Good work on twister under deadline pressure. Nice school pages. Good job.

2. Joshua Star-Tribune. Good photos. Pretty good layout. Would have liked more modular layout. Overall, very strong contender.

3. Eldorado Success. Glad to see use of technology. Interesting stories on weather modification. World news column unique in small weeklies.

4. Moody Courier. Good use of big photos for Christmas and Thrashing Days. Better layout was possible and would have pushed you higher.

Advertising

1. Hamlin Herald. Lucky Number promo: wow! Hope it was as fun as it looks!

2. Kerens Tribune. Excellent A-to-Z directory. Fun to read and a money-maker too!

3. White Oak Independent. Wonderful Santa section. However, Fairmont Children’s School ad is top notch.

4. DeLeon’s Monitor. Excellent ad! “Having good time.” Kent Boswell Construction.

Best Individual Photo

1. Aledo, Community News, Randy Keck. Nice angle on shot.

2. White Oak Independent. Easy to shoot, but an interesting photo.

3. Balch Springs, Suburban Tribune, Wayne Hickey: I’d have cropped photo more at bottom. Night photo is tough.

4. Burnet, Citizens Gazette, Rick Espitia. Nice shot for early morning fire. You could have cropped a little more tightly.

Best Use of Photos

1. Hallsville Herald. Great shots. Really capture action. Photos could use a bit more range of grays. Keep up the good work.

2. Presidio, International Paper. Great range of photos used. Enlarge and crop, or get closer to the subjects for bigger impact.

3. Matador, Motley County Tribune. Good use of photos. Enlarging and cropping would make the pictures have more impact.

4. Miami Chief. Even though it is important, I would have liked to see less of the shaking-hands pics and more action. Front pages looked good.

Column Writing

1. Balch Springs, Suburban Tribune, Jim Jarvis. Melon Patch: Wonderful remembrances. Uncle Dick Made Community Smile: This columnist has the gift of story-telling.

2. Burnet, Citizens Gazette, Rick Espitia. Coastal Sunrise Touches Soul: Very descriptive writing. Fireflies and Tears: Nice column.

3. White Oak Independent, Bob Millsap. Freight Weasels: Good story-telling style. Dealing With Life:

Nice writing.

4. White Oak Independent, Van Craddock. East Texas’ Place in History: This is a fun column. Outsiders Made Texas Great: Interesting trivia. Good writing.

Editorials

1. Miami Chief. Curfew: You get the point and stick to it. Endangering Public: Nice job of driving home the risks vs. the obscure benefits of high-speed chases.

2. Clarendon Enterprise. Technology in Town: Good rap against the insulated mentality of the Washington Beltway. And I liked the way you localized it. Now About Those: You eloquently point out the folly of allowing one person’s complaint to move the city to action before a proper study is done. At least they’re willing to take another look at it.

3. Hamlin Herald. Third Viewpoint, 5/19: National issues are easy targets. Readers respond more to tough stands on important local issues. It’s OK to take on Washington, but contest judges generally pick local editorials for high marks. Hasty Decision: That’s more like it. This is something that can excite your readers. You take a solid stand for more study before the project moves forward.

(Fourth place not awarded.)

Feature Story

1. Burnet Citizens Gazette, Rick Espitia. Getting Straight: Excellent, rating above refer to this story. It’s insightful, detailed and an interesting read. Snow Cone Man: Could be better. Consider leading with memories of his first job-and describe downing a snow cone in that brutal Texas heat.

2. Keene Star-Reporter, Paul Gnadt. Grand Jury: Good attempt. A true news feature. A little confusing, but all in all a stand out from the field. Hollis: Great. Good lead. Not cliche. Way to go. More, more, more! Have fun, like you did.

3. Kerens Tribune, Donna York. Slumber Party on Lake: Cute, cute, cute! Good writing, good topic. Lady Receives Gift of Visit: Good. I bet readership was very high.

4. Miami Chief, Valda Traughber. Candace Told It: Girthy subject with good detail. But what is Candace doing now? Did kids relate to her? You could make it better by including interviews with kids, asking about the impact of her story. Calling Cows: Lead is way too packed. Tell me up front what cow calling is. Then do the details.

News Writing

1. Aledo, Community News. I like the writing in this newspaper. Very solid and interesting.

2. Stanton, Martin County Messenger. Good writing and good coverage of more than chicken dinner circuit. Stories were well developed.

3. Kerens Tribune. Good, complete coverage and writing done well.

4. Joshua Star-Tribune. This paper looks to be covering the issues, good and bad. Good effort and fine writing.

Sports Coverage

1. White Oak Independent. In addition to special section, overall coverage excellent.

2. Burnet, Citizens Gazette. 12/18 issue reflected the widest range of coverage. Football “Kickoff’ complete with excellent layout. I even liked ads.

3. Hallsville Herald. Even a column, even down to ads, diversity of coverage strong for small paper.

4. Aledo, Community News. Window page a good idea, but not in above areas. Amos writes well. Some other stories weak. Good connection between photos and stories.