Texas Press Association
Division 2 Dailies 7,000 or Less
Division 3 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More
Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less
Division 1 Dailies 7,001 or more
GENERAL EXCELLENCE
1. Plainview Daily Herald. Strong on all points judged, put you on top.
2. Galveston County Daily News. Good job. Strong on all points judged.
3. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Good or very good on all points judged, put you close to the top.
4. Odessa American. A good-looking newspaper, strong on all points judged. First place got 90; you were only five points off with two in between.
ADVERTISING
1. Odessa American. Good white space and layout of ads. Clean-looking. Good mixture of businesses.
2. Brazosport Facts. Good layout and design on most ads. Good art and creativity.
3. Galveston County Daily News. Not the kind of ads I would expect to see in a larger paper. Not much creativity.
4. Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. Overall very average look. Only a few ads sparked reader interest.
COLUMN WRITING
1. Seguin Gazette-Enterprise, Steve Boehm. Excellent topic. To the point and constructive. Should be bolted to the wall of every school superintendent’s office.
2. Galveston County Daily News, Doug Toney. Two-part column about children threatening children is unsettling. Well done. Shows a parent’s anguish and fears quite clearly.
3. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, Roger Croteau. Well-written column, pointing out fears, some justified, some just plain bizarre of the government, paranoid militias.
4. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, Allene Blaker. Columnist’s sequel to Puff the Magic Dragon brings up the tears. Well done. This column spoke to me and I’ll be hearing that song the rest of the day.
EDITORIALS
1. Galveston County Daily News. Strong, convincing editorial on a very important local subject. Not an easy thing to do.
2. Beaumont Enterprise. Concise, convincing. What an editorial should be!
3. Baytown Sun. This is a much better example of a quick write editorial. It makes its point well. The lead is good.
4. Brazosport Facts. An important local subject.
FEATURE STORY
1. Brazosport Facts, Rhonda Moran. Excellent use of main photo with her and the photos. Congratulations to the photographer for the shot. Story: Good flow. Easily read because you kept the rhythm going. Good end quote. The story was long but you kept reader’s interest with good transitions. Congratulations on handling a tough piece with professionalism.
2. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, Roger Crotean. Excellent photos. Good lead. Good tie-in with “war” — “front line.” Good transitions. Touchy subject. I bet you got calls on this one. After last sub-lead, although nice sentence, it puts a tremendous blame on a coyote especially if he’s to blame for all you write in the next two graphs. Lost a little credibility there. You can blame coyotes for some things but not for everything. Otherwise, well-written piece, complemented by good
3. Denison Herald. Bennett, Rejcek, & Munsch. “Urban infections” wonderful. There were problems with transitions throughout. For example, between third and fourth graphs, subhead didn’t help since it was the only subhead. It also looked odd. “He said in a Herald Interview” was obvious — leave it out. Bennett’s “State” lead was strong and the quote intensified it. Again, the single subhead should’ve been cut. No need, as the story was obviously Craig’s story. Well written. Bennett’s “Teen” — why “the” in the headline? Dull lead. Run a spell-check on every story. Rejcek: good strong lead, although I don’t usually like quotes for leads. “Impotent justice system”—-- good descriptive use of words! Excellent writing with good end quote. Photos: what was the dress code on the beer sign photo? Needed cutline at best. It was good to compare what the police think and what’s actually out there. Should have opened some eyes. Brave move.
4. Beaumont Enterprise, Jane McBride. Good lead. I kept reading and reading, but in part’ there was no mention of who you referred to in the lead and whose photo I saw. Third graph should have been a capsule of whatever would be written about in Part 2. The end one-liner was very good and made me want to read Part 2. Design: Too cluttered with all the lines and boxes.
NEWS WRITING
1. Brazosport Facts. Great commentary by Wanda Cash on ADA. Nice use of injuries to tie it in as a personal matter. Julie Myers’ feature on the Backyard Barrel and Linda Heath’s story on quilting were written so well I actually reread both. Nice job. Good use of features, good job on hard news; the “Fact” is, this is a damn good paper.
2. Beaumont Enterprise. Some of the best writing in this division. Feature-type leads are used when appropriate. Steve Brewer did a solid job on DA Horka and his trip to the Big Easy. Loved Shari Fey’s prom story — well done. Sports section is better than competent, nice feature on Shay Segrast by Kenton Brooks. Staff deserves a pat on the back from management.
3. Odessa American. Remind me not to fly a prop plane around Odessa/Midland! Excellent, thorough, in-depth coverage of two tragedies. Really liked Cathy Frye’s witness reaction on plane that hit house. Frye puts in the facts, but actually writes as well. Laura Luckwell-Dennis writes a very good column. And those sports guys — great section! Loved the local prep grid stats just three games into the season. Well-written, innovative stuff. Good work.
4. Paris News. Great job on covering what’s going on in N.E. Texas / S.E. Okla. Very thorough, detailed, balanced. Writing is a bit dull, and tends to plod the deeper one goes in the story. Leads are competent but not real attention grabbers.
SPORTS COVERAGE
1. Odessa American. Excellent color photos, design, leads. Attractive section.
2. Galveston County Daily News. Great layout, photos are eye catching. State football playoff coverage was excellent.
3. Beaumont Enterprise. Excellent sports coverage, good use of color. Great Football tab.
4. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Nice-looking page, good photos, writing. Color would be a benefit to your layout.
BEST INDIVIDUAL PHOTO
1. Odessa American, Matt Brunworth. This is great photo, catches one’s eye quickly. Tells the story well. Good job.
2. Beaumont Enterprise, Ron Zaap. This has tremendous emotional impact. Catches reader’s eye and focuses on the tragedy of a tornado.
3. Galveston County Daily News, Kevin B. Good action. Human interest, but lack in artistic quality.
4. Brazosport Facts, Chris Matula. Pretty good, but artistic quality is lacking. It’s an unusual shot. Good human interest.
BEST USE OF PHOTOS
1. Odessa American. Very strong news and feature photography: crisp. Whole package was enjoyable to see.
2. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Darnall does good work! Good photo composition, subject matter. Good, clear shots.
3. Beaumont Enterprise. If your photos are as good year ‘round as in these two issues, your readers must love you.
4. Brazosport Facts. Good creativity shown in average situations. Feature photos on race were good.
Division 2 Dailies 7,000 or less
General Excellence
1. Huntsville Item. Your color reproduction put you on top in your category. Global Hot Shots new twist on old idea. Writing good, layout good. On the two editorial pages I saw, I would have liked more local emphasis. Perhaps you do on other days. Letters to the editor excellent. Congratulations! You clearly have a winning newspaper!
2. Stephenville Empire-Tribune. You were a close second to No. 1. Good color, good writing, strong layout and design. Classified headings perhaps a little big? Some football pictures weak. . . hard to shoot. News roundup maybe a little long on some?
3. Bay City Daily Tribune. Art work (tickets, 10/9, and chef, 7/3) unique . . . eye catching. Sports stories longer than I like to read. A few more local pictures inside would add to your newspaper. You are doing some things to set you apart artwork, slanted teaser across flag, I liked. Just work to give your newspaper grabbing headlines throughout. Liked story on children’s museum. Would have liked a headline. Thought your red, white and blue headline clever.
4. Big Spring Herald. Good for you! I liked the size of “Suspect Nabbed.” Suggestions: Work on flag: too much white space on either side on Sunday, 5/1. Not so bad on 10/12. Notice you change flag from issue to issue. Good idea - but still needs work. News digest dominates page when two column, don’t you think? Pictures were a different twist. Lacked story idea on go right, go left, etc. Page numbers too big for my taste. You have a lot of good things going in your newspaper.
Advertising
1. Hereford Brand. Good, effective use and balance of artwork, pictures and headlines in ads. Imagination and effort is put into advertising.
2. Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. Good looking ads with good use of artwork. Clean ads which are easy to read.
3. Huntsville Item. Effective use of artwork overall, especially in larger ads.
4. Snyder Daily News. Overall, good looking ads. Could use stronger and more artwork to help ads look different.
Column Writing
1. Waxahachie Daily Light. Patricia C. Stumb, When Words Aren’t Necessary: Nice, nice column. Good development. Nice sense of humor. Good word use: “I tell every nook and cranny of my day.” Perfect length. Beware of School Bus No. 73: Your columns made me smile all the way through. Your endings tie so well to your beginning. Nice package. I’d like to read you every week.
2. Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. Steve Boehm, What’s the Fuss About?: Wonderful. You don’t even have to stretch for the meter, as is often the case in setting words to rhyme. Paper Needs Gimmick: Great imagination. Great writing. Tough choice between No. 1 and No. 2 in judging.
3. Pasadena Citizen. John Palamidy, Swimming: Nice style. I can certainly identify with your “dreads,” and I’m sure others can too. New Member of the Gang: Nice profile. Your caring shows in an unsentimental way.
4. McKinney Courier-Gazette. Jean Ann Collins, New Home: A column a lot of people can relate to. George Strait: Nice take on a fantasy. This was my favorite of the two columns.
Editorials
1. Pasadena Citizen. Cable TV: Well reasoned, persuasive piece on important issue. Helicopter Police Proposal: Good writing, high news value, and persuasive piece.
2. Pecos Enterprise. Judicial Term Limits: Good piece, very readable and important to community. Longer School Days: Well written, good argument and important to community.
3. Sweetwater Reporter. No Excuse for Not Voting: Good topic, but not persuasive enough. Parenting Responsibility: Critically important and timely piece. Well written and organized. Persuasive.
4. Kilgore News Herald. Economic Growth: Very predictable views of boosterism and nothing special in writing.
Feature Story
1. Pasadena Citizen. Debts and Disappointment: Great graphic. Excellent reporting. This is the kind of job one would expect from a bigger paper. Clear, concise, thorough. Writer has big talent. Blast Changed Industry: This would fit better in a different category, perhaps photo story? Investigative? Community? Work, stories, art impressive, but the other Pasadena entry more fitting in this cat gory.
2. Waxahachie Daily Light. King Bee: Great layout and illustrations. You can almost feel the sting. Informative and interesting. Playground for David: Impressive story of what a community can achieve. Technical details overpower feature aspect.
3. Kilgore News Herald. Breast Cancer Survivors: Writer did very credible job of relaying fears women have of cancer, particularly breast cancer. Tie-in questions and answers excellent. A mix of humor lightens the story. Strike Allows Evans to Attend Class Reunion: Nice job of getting story from hometown boy, but headline is too much of a cliche.
4. Bay City Daily Tribune. Jumper’s Life: Lively, g use of language. Creative art. Short, easy to read. Wel placed quotes. In short, a winner. Children’s Museum: Needs stronger verbs, lead. Quotes, because of how
News Writing
1. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Good, interesting leads. Nice local color and coverage. Heads and stories attract attention. Structure and punctuation are accurate: Nice research. Good work. Wonderful presentation.
2. Texas City Sun. Great readability. News value great. I especially like the leads. Just some very fine writing. Great presentation. Heads jump out.
3. Vernon Daily Record. Good use of leads creates interest. Local coverage good. Nice use of quotes and sentence structure. Readability and presentation were basically good. Maybe leads could be better.
4. Pasadena Citizen. Good readability. News value is high. Most leads are excellent. Some suffer from news value, but accuracy and writing are very good. Structure and presentation great.
Sports Coverage
1. Stephenville Empire-Tribune. Super job. Clearly No. I. Nice Friday feature. Color picture on front. Gave fans good state coverage and took advantage to win No. 1 here!
2. Texas City Sun. Excellent job. Just behind No. 1, but way above Nos. 3, 4, etc. Good depth of coverage. Fair column. Could use better photos.
3. Big Spring Herald. Good coverage, depth. Need better pictures, better layout. Good to include column.
4. Athens Daily Review. Good job of coverage. Need better layout. Nice previews 10/20. Work on the layout!
Best News or Feature Photo
1. Plainview Daily Herald. This photo could have been cropped more and even run bigger.
2. Athens Daily Review. Expression on Martin’s face made this photo for me.
3. Texas City Sun. This photo tells story without reading cutline.
4. Gainesville Daily Register. This photo should be cropped.
Best Use of Photos
1. Waxahachie Daily Light. No comment.
2. Brownwood Bulletin. No comment.
3. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. No comment.
4. Bay City Daily Tribune. No comment
Division 3 Semiweeklies 4,001 or more
General Excellence
1. Irving News. Best news coverage, writing.
2. Wise County Messenger, Decatur. Excellent local news. Good high school sports coverage. Amazing percentage of local news.
3. Grand Prairie News. Best classified section.
4. Richardson News. Local editorials. Good overall.
Advertising
1. Hood County News, Granbury. Good art and photo use. Effective color and ads have dominant art, photo or headline. Even usually boring grocery ads look good.
2. Uvalde Leader-News. Good use of art and photos. Every ad has dominant art or photo. Use of white space makes ads effective and easy to read.
3. Irving News. Clean and effective advertising. Some tendency for ads to look similar and blend into page.
4. Wise County Messenger, Decatur. Clean, bright ads with effective photos and artwork.
Column Writing
1. Round Rock Leader. Sharon Gollop, Clothes: Entertaining humor, but lose first paragraph. It’s not needed. Fudge: Save some for me. Good column. Tighten it up and sell it to Family Circle.
2. Beeville Bee-Picayune. Chip Latcham, Mean Mothers: Well written perspective on parental responsibility. Pig in Poke: Lively commentary on pigs in Dallas coaching. Excellent.
3. Williamson County Sun, Georgetown. Clark Thurmond, Walks: Agreed. Let’s put a cow in every yard.
A longhorn, I’m sure. Jungle Law: Hilarious snippets. Love the rabbit tale. What’s mastectomy art?
4. Center Light & Champion. Candace Velvin, First Amendment: Well reasoned essay on freedom of press and individual rights. Political Mud: Excellent commentary on political dirt and mudsling.
Editorials
1. Garland News. Project Oasis: Bang, bang, bang, bang! You shot this idea dead! Surely the voters didn’t approve this bond package after reading this excellent editorial. Reason for Hope: Common sense editorial. I hope city leaders, Chamber and school appreciate your words of praise and continue working together.
2. Williamson County Sun, Georgetown. Navarretta for State Rep: It’s hard to oppose an incumbent, but you did a fine job of telling the reader why the incumbent deserved the boot. Time to Go: Yes, Carraco should step down from the city council. Now, where’s the editorial about the district attorney who tried to push the case through absent public knowledge?
3. Irving News. Snobbish Attitudes: A gutsy stand. Writer tells of a serious problem and puts the blame right where it belongs. Super Bowl Trip: I saw the names of only two of the five council members who made the trip, How about naming the other three?
4. Grand Prairie News. Zoning Decision: Good, short lead. Good case made. I liked the line, “Then, you simply have mob rule versus mob rule.” Moved Meeting: Not an earth-shaking topic, but probably one much discussed in Grand Prairie. I hope the board took your advice.
Feature Story
1. Graham Leader. Rebekah’s Last Wish: Very touching story. Well written. Nice detail. The Survivor: Thank you for providing detail and clarity to let me feel like I could picture these places in my mind. Wonderful, compelling story. The last 10 paragraphs or so don’t have the same style as the rest of the story. I almost felt like a different story. Suggestion: Use subheads to break up all the type. It would be easier to read.
2. Round Rock Leader. Funeral Home Directors, Rest in Peace: Thank you. This is an imaginative story that I am sure answers many questions for readers, but isn’t flip. I would like to have read more about the funeral directors, though. Nice public service piece, too. Holiday Hard Times: I feel like the story could have been more personal. After reading it I don’t feel much compassion for them. Also, would like more info on the agencies that help. It’s a good story to tell your readers, though.
3. Uvalde Leader-News. Principal in Drag: I love this. Congrats to the principal who will do this to motivate his students. The story does a good job of mixing the frivolity with the issue behind it: kids doing better in school. Nice photo, too. Life on Amazon River: Good story. Good topic. Thanks for using subheads to break up copy. Could probably have been tightened a little bit.
4. Williamson County Sun, Georgetown. After Tornado: Thank you, Brian Pearson, for using lively verbs and adjectives for a refreshing, personal look at the plight of these residents. Good work, and thanks for the subheads. No Pass, No Play: This personalizes and makes real something that I’m sure readers have heard lots about. This makes it understandable and shows the consequences.
News Writing
1. Arlington News. This takes top honors not only for the writing, but for organization of the news into bite sized sections that are easy to digest. It is obvious thought goes into each issue.
2. Irving News. These articles seem well researched and well written. News stories placed for maximum attention. Sports and Scene good aspects of paper. Overall, a winning effort by an editorial staff that appears to plan and execute in an excellent manner.
3. Grand Prairie News. Good strong leads and presentation of stories with graphics. Stories compact and understandable. This paper deserves a prize.
4. Graham Leader. Writing sharp, concise, informative. Good mix of news. Most stories well edited.
Sports Coverage
1. Mid-Cities News, Hurst. Nice Miller feature! Excellent layout and coverage. Needs column. Best package overall of sister publications. Feature makes it No. 1.
2. Grand Prairie News. Excellent layout, coverage. Needs column. Feature on Chilton good. Close to No. 1, but No. 2.
3. Irving News. Excellent layout, coverage. One column in two issues. Nice hockey page. Inside pics not as good as sister publications.
4. Arlington News. Excellent job, just a notch below sister publications. Great photo on bottom of 10/30 issue. Good football yearbook.
Best Sports Photo
1. Mid-Cities News, Hurst. Football Fumble. Nice placement of objects. Cropping pretty good.
2. Arlington News. Texas Double Play. Nice photo. Cutline vague. Who is the visiting team?
3. Richardson News. Basketball Loose Ball. I like the long (wide) format. It makes the viewer look back & forth at all of the subject. It is a good moment.
4. Graham Leader. Scrimmage Fumble. Well timed photo. Cropping a little loose. Is the band of players on the right important?
Best News or Feature Photo
1. Richardson News. A Match For Courtney: Child in this photo has such a serious expression. It is as though she knows exactly what is going on in her life. That little hand holding her mother’s hand sends a strong message. At the same time, we see the same fear in the mother’s eyes, who is leaning on her helpless daughter. This is a very moving and intimate picture.
2. Cedar Creek Pilot, Gun Barrel City. Boat Slams Into Pillar: Well-timed photo.
3. Wise County Messenger, Decatur. Spectacular Fire. Although this is bad news, the colors and overall quality of the photo make the viewer take a second and third look.
4. Grand Prairie News. Hot Stuff Teacher: Student on the left looks to be in some pain. So does the student on the right. The teacher, however, seems to like fire quite a bit. Nice placement of subjects.
Best Use of Photos
1. Williamson County Sun, Georgetown. I like the big photos and use of tight cropping and faces. Very good photographers. This is some fine work. Thompson and Armstrong are doing very good work. Don’t detract from their photos by writing poorly laid out captions. Use caption blocks like another picture, or photo pages look stacked. Layout doesn’t flow like it should. I think sometimes the border around each print can make each photo seem separated, especially if the captions aren’t incorporated well in the layout.
2. Burleson Star. Good number of photos, generally good quality, though sometimes cropping and layout are poor. 5/19 front page should have lower photo in top left. Action seems to flow away from the front. Boy jumping should be on the right. Need to incorporate captions into one block of text and use it in the layout. The caption under each print breaks up the page and doesn’t flow graphically. Still, good photo work.
3. Cedar Creek Pilot, Gun Barrel City. Good photographs, poor print quality. Burn in the sky and light areas. If you can’t see a sky in the print and there is no border, prints look washed out. Reproduction is the weakness here. Love your work. Just need better quality.
4. Round Rock Leader. Great layout. Photos and page flow well. Photo subject and quality good. Maybe cropping tighter and waiting just a second longer. Did the little boy reach in the bucket and pull out a crawdad? Perhaps snapping picture when cow chip is higher in photo. Could use more pictures inside.
Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,000 or less
General Excellence
1. Clear Lake Citizen. Strong writing, clean design. Page 2 feature, 5/13, especially good. Strong, effective headlines. Great job with classifieds. Good use of color. You stand out as one of the best.
2. Rockwall Texas Success. Nice typography on front page and throughout. Great job with section heads. Best in class with treatment of sports, albeit a low point category. Good product overall.
3. Bowie News. Your use of photos stands out in this class. Great idea with .kid pix of the grads, especially if that was on a pay basis. Your byline style is a bit overblown. Editorial photos would benefit from the same bordering that some of your ad photos receive.
4. Liberty Vindicator. Love the Bumham family ad! How about some action in photos? You do a good job with ads.
Advertising
1. Clear Lake Citizen. Liked classified pages. Very easy to read and large displays positioned to not detract from reader ads. No wonder you have five pages of classifieds. Overall ad layout shows your staff is on the ball. Good type choices, etc. Currents 94 is superb. There’s good color in a few ads, and all ads look sharp. “ReMax” page flows nicely.
2. Canyon News. Nice job on Discover Canyon section. Ad layout is not bad and most ads flow well. Color on front is great, but weak on inside and ads on back page. Classified pages are not bad. Real estate ads show well and headings on by-the-word ads are easy to spot. Gift guide cover is weak. Color separations would have been helpful. Ad layout in section pretty good. Good use of artwork.
3. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Visitors guide well done, good color, ads well designed and flow through sections to create great overall effect. Classified pages easy to read. Headings stand Out. Hunters sections local ad layout fair. Need a little more pizazz. Some smaller ads pretty bland in type choice and lack illustrations. Overall layout of ads is good.
4. Liberty Vindicator. Ads in EPA Livestock Show and Rodeo well laid out. Good ad ratio to news. Classified pages look jumbled and are a little hard to read. By-the-word ads on first page are hard to find. D-Day section is a real winner. Ads tie in great with section.
Column Writing
1. Bowie News. David Gregory,Wife Goes to Wal-Mart. Do you own stock in Wal-Mart? Good free advertising with no other point to your story. Brother Eats Pork ‘n’ Beans: Very entertaining! Kid stories appeal to everyone and this is a classic.
2. Canyon News. Kimberly Burk. When You Become an Adult: Light hearted and easy-to read. Funny and easy to relate to. Cruising in a Ford Fairlane: tie careful not to get too folksy with your language. Personal stories are always a welcome addition.
3. Commerce Journal. Paul Harris, Tennis Anyone: Has universal appeal. Funny. Especially liked your last sentence. Barbarians Knocking: Like your sense of humor! Good lead really pulled me into your story. I like quotes!
4. Rockwall Texas Success. Brett Tulloss, Old Friend Refuses to Listen: Your ending was cold and callous compared to the rest of your story. Good use of quotes. Physical Trauma: Some sentences turn into paragraphs. Good message and strong finish.
Editorials
1. Rockwall Texas Success. Right From Wrong: Amen. Expanding Jail: Well worded opinion. Most voters probably don’t consider prisons as profit centers, but you bring this up without wild promise of a payoff.
2. Canyon News
. Budget: I think you raise some valid questions while letting the outgoing judge know your displeasure. Nobody else is in the position to be a watchdog, and you performed this function with both tact and teeth. Buildings: I’m not sure I follow your logic. It’s hard to speculate on the value of development or bids, but it seems reasonable for the new commission to make the decision.
3. Perryton Herald. Permit Problem: Refer to people with the pronoun “who” rather than “that.” Is there any consequence to pork producing besides economic development? It very much impacts the environment. North Missouri is on the verge of becoming one big stinking corporate hog farm. Keeping up with the Oklahoma neighbors isn’t the only issue, but it’s the only one you present. Vote Yes: You make a good case for Proposition 1. Did it pass? I’m not a big fan of sans serif type for body copy, and at your line length, it’s at the upper limit of legibility. Should you box it? Or use ragged right? You might play with it a bit.
4. Lampasas Dispatch Record. School Bond: You score points with me until sixth graph, when you write, if improved facilities are not written into the board proposal, they should be.” How could you advocate this, or expect voters to approve it, if the benefits aren’t clearly defined in advance? I wonder if it passed. Certification: Lots of discussion about process, with result appearing about two-thirds of the way down in the column. I’m not sure many readers will stay with you that far. Overall note: Page heading is “Editorials” yet page contains letters. cartoon, columns. etc. I won would rather see editorials called “editorials.”
Feature Story
1. Perryton Herald. Model Citizens: A fun story, something different. Breast Cancer Awareness: News story, not a feature.
2. Rockwall Texas Success. Hensel Story: Touching. Best Kept Secret: This story is more news story than feature.
3. Clear Lake Citizen. Carlos Barber Shop: Good story, but way too long.
4. Liberty Vindicator. Birds: Fun, interesting, could have been a little shorter. Evacuate Nursing Home: A news story, not feature.
News Writing
1. Clear Lake Citizen. Easy to read stories flow well, answers readers’ questions. Good quotes.
2. Perryton Herald. Easy to read, solid stories, good info, good length.
3. Commerce Journal. Good writing, good leads, enjoyable personal column.
4. Andrews County News. Solid reporting, good view of the community.
Sports Coverage
1. Rockwall Texas Success. Nice layout, good typography, big pictures and good looking sports logos in stories. I liked the jumps to the next page.
2. Commerce Journal. Good photos and a nice variety of sports stories, including outdoors. Well laid out.
3. Breckenridge American. Great pictures and a good variety of local stories. There is completeness in your reporting.
4. Clear Lake Citizen. Good job of complete coverage. Lots of good pictures a definite plus.
Best Sports Photo
1. Rockwall Texas Success. Rockwall Whips: Running back’s eyes make this a winner. If it’s a good photo, print it big! Right?
2. Andrews County News. On Top: Good action. Volleyball is a hard sport to photograph.
3. Perryton Herald. Ranger Air Good action timing. Clear, but a long way away.
4. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Britt Carlisle: Terrible photo, but great action and timing.
Best News or Feature Photo
1. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Carnival Ride: Excellent action photo capturing the excitement of the fair. Cropping is great and placement is strong. The particular strength of this photo is in the clarity of facial expression. It brings significant humanizing to the photo.
2. Liberty Vindicator. A Little Pistol: Real strength in capturing little people, short and tall, that make a parade. Cropping very good, placement excellent. Definition only good. Strong without cutline, but stronger with.
3. Perryton Herald. New Drive-thru: Composition good, resolution good. News value very high. This photo is strengthened by excellent cropping. Humanity/emotion that was available has been sacrificed to the action and composition.
4. Andrews County News. Andrews Woman: Daring use of oversize. Photo cropped well, resolution good. Simple accident would be only stock photo, but here, debris and the human element make it a great photo under the circumstances.
Best Use of Photos
1. Commerce Journal. Blackjack Grove photos well done. Overall, a very good job.
2. Canyon News. Photo of woman in bungee run should be larger. Include names, especially of kids, in all cut-lines. Front page photo of two sisters in 12/15 issue could have been great, had it reproduced well.
3. Bowie News. Inconsistent photo work. Some are great, like front page rodeo pictures, and others are poor, like the Bowie High technology students on page 7A. Good job on the Bowie Water Resource Center section.
4. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Great photo on cover of Deer section. Where are the cutlines on Spring Ho 1994 feature on front page?
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