1998 Better Newspaper Contest — Dailies & Semiweeklies
Texas Press Association
Division 2 Dailies 15,000 or Less
Division 3 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More
Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less
Division 1 Dailies 15,001 or more
General Excellence
1. Midland Reporter-Telegram. Strong newspaper across the board. Lots of local. This paper does the best job of any in this contest of showing a broad range of things going on in the community. Lots of photos and good reproduction. Outlook 97 is a strong effort.
2. The Galveston County Daily News. Solid newspaper that does several things well. The USS Ross package is very well done. Local copy on business page is a plus, as are items such as High Fives. Writing in some cases, such as the redfish story, could benefit from a “why-am-I-reading this” paragraph high up.
3. The Brazosport Facts. Hard-news coverage is a strength of this newspaper. Jail video story is huge, and the paper knew what to do with it. Nice headline: “Thou shalt not snack.” More local on front page of sports would help.
4. Beaumont Enterprise. Clean, attractive lay out is a strength of this newspaper. The execution story is a strong effort. Writing, at times, wanders and is a little unclear. More local on specialty pages would help.
Advertising
1. Brazosport Facts. Super use of color, art and copy in school bus ad; good graphics in jewelry ad; too many different typefaces, too many screens. Center ad: almost impossible to read.
2. Beaumont Enterprise. Excellent way to get multilocation concept across and good color in first ad; feel sorry for the other ads that didn’t have color in them in second ad; cutesy, cutesy but not very original third ad.
3. Midland Reporter-Telegram. Nice way to present an old advertising promotion in 12 Days of Christmas; overuse of colors detracts from each advertiser in Give Thanks ad; impossible-to-read text when placed on top of 4-color art in Merry Christmas ad. All ads should have been like McMurry Macco. Can’t read black type on green.
4. No award given.
Column Writing
1. Beaumont Enterprise. Thomas Taschinger, Sports Fans: Quick-paced writing dotted with humor. You have a fun style to read. I understand your point on Barry Bremen. I saw Morgana do the same thing to George Brett in the ‘70s. It won’t happen today. Ag Dept. Spending: Letter to Dan Glickman makes reader feel more a part of column than if you had written it straight. Enjoyable read. Good job.
2. Midland Reporter-Telegram. Gary Ott, Fear: Well written, but just a little too personal. Volunteer Experience: Very well done. I feel like a better person and all I did was read about volunteer effort.
3. The Galveston County Daily News. Dolph Tillotson, Make Island Attractive: Column points out problem in community and offers solution just what the forum should be used for. Law Ignores Rights of Accident Victims: Typical, but correct stance newspaper should take on important issue. It was proposed here too.
4. The Galveston County Daily News. Kelly Hawes, Why Limit Books: Very reader-friendly way to handle important issue. Personalizing it makes reader feel more comfortable with your point.
Editorials
1. The Galveston County Daily News. Convention Study: This paper must be independently owned. No chain would allow its opinion page to take on three of its state’s wealthiest citizens. A good read. What Mayor Could Have Said: You laid it all out for everyone to see. Good job. I’m curious if the mayor has hired a new speechwriter.
2. Beaumont Enterprise. Audit Firm Needed: You are correct to “tweak;’ the noses of the city leaders, but I wonder how many people really care. More probably should. Agencies Must Respect Dissent: Great! The Texas Commission on Human Rights sounds like it’s the IRS.
3. Odessa American. Youth Curfew: You’re right. A youth curfew is something that will not work. However, you failed to offer an alternative. Tax Option: Love the headline. I like your suggestion of a state sunset act to prevent this problem in the future.
4. The Brazosport Facts. Beach for Sale: Good lead. My only concern is that you did not remind readers of what other types of monkey business the city has been accused of. I could not tell from this piece. Responsibility Wanted: Good job. You laid out the issue and then built a solid case to prove a point about the proposed state rules for use of force in county jails. You shot the sheriffs out of their collective saddle.
Feature Story
1. Beaumont Enterprise. Jenna Jackson, Other
Death Row: Wow, compelling subject! Shows reader an aspect of life they would never know otherwise. Solid writing. Would have used more about what it actually feels like to have AIDS. Sonja Garza, Sculptor at 90: Pace of this story reflects artist’s life, but it’s too slow to be interesting. Vibrant. I liked the observations of the artist, work by friends. The sidebar (page 8A) is a gem.
2. The Galveston County Daily News. Heidi Lutz, One in 6,000: Important topic. Writing could have been more to the point, for example, “Once a child is diagnosed with it, there is no cure.” There is no cure whether or not there is a diagnosis. Story also has organizational problems. Michael A. Smith, Footprint on Earth: Series provides detailed information about the world of big money and its personalities. Lots of hard work, digging here. Solid writing, but maybe more than I want to know. Also would have been better if it had related the information to the reader.
3. Odessa American. Dana Bartholomew, Taking to Skies: Interesting subject. Everyone’s wondered what it’s like to fly. Better than average writing. The lead photo really puts you there. Great anecdotes from the subjects of the story. Kim Smith, Inmate Ready to Die: Good writing overall, but what’s the point, exactly? Maybe society has become jaded about executions, but what sets this guy apart? There may be local interest that keeps this story alive, however.
4. The Brazosport Facts. Steve Scheibal, Gator Tale: Great contrast. Dangerous animal, funny material. Very well written. Would have given it bigger play. Steve Scheibal, Seafaring Life: Topic gives non-fishermen an idea where their tax dollars are going.
Page Design
1. Beaumont Enterprise. Very open, readable style. Good use of headlines to create a sense of importance for lead stories. Lines to separate stories work well. Good sense of proportion. Use of graphic elements leads reader through paper. Inside designed quotes to break up a few blocks of gray, or maybe a graphic, chart or map. Sizing of photos excellent. Opinion page a bit overdone on typography. “Schools & Rules” way too big, as are the jackbooted Nazi children. A bit hyperbolic. But opinion pages should have a voice. This one does, for sure, and the graphics do it between the eyes. Rest of the opinion section well done. Sports: the header is way too space consuming. Cuts down on content for rest of page. But well designed. Easy to read. The feature section very understated compared to rest of paper.
2. The Galveston County Daily News. Front page is too busy. Too many colors of type. “A Final Farewell” looked like a magazine cover — too much below the fold. “I The News” too busy with photos that repeat inside photos (which run too small). Good mix of type styles, but not enough variety of size (inside). Page 2 great, very readable. Opinion very good. Clean and simple. Inside news pages very good. Sports: lead photo too small, column mug too big. Need more variety of headline sizes. Overall, very consistent look. Good job. Just needs some tweaking. Lifestyle section: main story too big. Too vertical. Break it up so two columns don’t run down each side. Hard to design the middle space.
3. Odessa American. Design too dense on the front page. Better inside. Typo in cutline. Shapes on front page awkward. Should mix serif and sans serif for main and second headlines. Sports well done, but drop shadow on top of picture frame too much. Good variety of headline sizes, well organized. Arts page: pictures all too similar in size. Diary presentation of one actress good idea, but a big mass of gray inside. Editorial page very hard to read. Way too much gray. Typography use nil. Commentary better, but another mass of grav.
4. The Brazosport Facts. Too many similar-sized photos on front page. Center picture very poor choice. Mix serif with sans serif headlines and try for more variety on head sizes. Can’t tell what’s important. Format too horizontal. Need to break up text with graphic elements. Create a real centerpiece of most important story. Inside pages very well done, if gray bars look a bit rudimentary. Get to know your Macs better. Sports well done. Good use of graphic elements and lines.
Photography
1. Laredo Morning Times. Eddie Rios and J. Michael Short. Anguished Relative: Nice view of anguished relative, but almost cut all of the victim out of the frame. Great sense of urgency. Red Onions: Nice composition. Tells a lot about working conditions. Rather see a “working” picture than a posed, “cool” composition. Soundly Surrounded: Best news photo in category. Took a lot of hustle to capture this picture of police and suspect on the run.
2. Odessa American, Mark Sterkel and Darwin Weigel. Birthday Honors: Very nice use of wide angle. Good color, nice use of light in a tough situation. Need to split cutlines into two columns on big pictures. Brightening the Sky: Wonderful picture, good composition, a bit tight on top, excellent technique. Knockout Punch: Nice moment away from the ball. Something different that doesn’t show the same old angle.
3. Beaumont Enterprise, Ron Jaap. Elizondo Free: Great moment, really captures the sense of relief and how family supports him. Other Death Row: Good picture, captures sense of isolation the patient feels. Works well with story. Wreck on Interstate 10: Good work under pressure. Captures the difficulty officers had in dealing with the man.
4. Midland Reporter-Telegram. Faith Behind Bars (Tim Fischer): Good play. Complex picture captures essence of event. Great access picture, colorful, captures the sense of drama for the story. Tilted horizon not relevant to victure. A bit tight on right. Recess at St. Ann’s (Curt Wilcott): Subject staring at camera is not good. But good composition and capturing subject. Looks like he’s performing for camera.
News Writing
1. The Galveston County Daily News. Nice packaging with tornado story. I like the fact that it’s short. It gets to the point without dragging on. Nice description. The firing story has incredible detail, strong writing. But learn how to spell Savannah, Ga. Both writers are hard workers. Lots of copy.
2. Beaumont Enterprise. The amount of detail about the killer’s method of escape is startling. You must have good sources. The story would have been stronger, though, if you had focused on the escape itself and had community reaction separately. The second story — food poisoning — had a strong sense of urgency. I am not sure, though, why Jim Heintzman’s quote was in the story. Did he attend the conference? You need to tell the readers.
3. The Brazosport Facts. I wanted the jump for the main story (on the prison) but it was not included. What I read was informative, but I want to know what local officials are going to do, if anything. This really shows your strong reporting skills and excellent contacts. The ordinance story is too long. Plus. higher up in the story you need to tell readers what these documents said. I still don’t understand why city council members were so upset. You guys are hard workers and good journalists. You just need fine tuning and better packaging.
4. Midland Reporter-Telegram. The Republic of Texas standoff was a little hard to follow. Quotes should not be used as leads of news stories. Lots of strong detail, but a few dropped quote marks and such show you need to be a bit more careful or you need closer editing. Teacher Death: Nice job of getting late news. I would have liked the suspect’s account of what happened (through the cops, of course). Did he see her? Was it accidental? More info about the teacher would have been nice. Did she have kids? Where was she from?
Sports Coverage
1. The Galveston County Daily News. Very good design. Presentation is easy on the eyes.
2. Odessa American. Would like to have seen more human interest and enterprise stories.
3. The Brazosport Facts. For the umpires story, the writer should have talked to some players and fans. A pull-out box detailing local incidents would have been good.
4. Beaumont Enterprise. Do people in your town really care enough about the Zamboni or Tour of Spain to justify putting them on the cover? The banner is too big and photos are too close in size. Need to make better use of space on the cover.
Division 2 Dailies 15,000 or less
General Excellence
1. New Braunfels Heraid-Zeitung. A very inviting newspaper for readers. Layout and design a level above all others in category. Editorial page and local editorials best in the class. Listing names, phone numbers and extensions, as well as e-mail addresses of editors is excellent idea. This paper may not publish as many pages as others, but it tops all others on overall quality. Nice job!
2. Texas City Sun. Nicely designed, especially front pages and some section fronts. Headlines generally don’t just tell, but sell the stories. Writing and editing generally well done.
3. Paris News. I especially like the in-depth treatment of the dominant Page 1 story. Well illustrated, too. Writing is as concise as anyone in this category. Tough decision between this and second place.
4. Huntsville Item. Well designed, clean and inviting to reader. Excellent job of giving reader a variety of news topics on Page 1. Most local stories concisely written. Very good job overall.
Advertising
1. Hereford Brand. Loved checkbook ad - gets message across with good use of artwork; co-op month ad also good, but would have been great with use of spot color.
2. Ennis Daily News. Good use of spot color on these ads; Savings Time layout super.
3. Stephenville Empire-Tribune. Dairyfest idea is great; photos cute, but 4-color reproduction out of focus and poor printing kept you out of 1st place.
4. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Good use of color.
Column Writing
1. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, Doug Toney. Encounter Mends Wounds: This one brought a tear to my eyes. What an uplifting column about a horribly painful subject. Law Abiding Gun Owners: Another terrific column, very well written, makes a point without being pointed or nasty. Loved it!
2. Vernon Daily Record. Joyce Ann Lashley. Samaritans: Excellent column. The analogy between the bike rider and Jesus was super and it was a very uplifting story to boot. Graduation Ghosts: Another dynamite column. Actual events make for the best columns and yours are terrific. Good job!
3. Snyder Daily News, Bill McClellan. Quitting Smoking: What a hoot! Not being a smoker, I can’t really appreciate your humor firsthand, but I got a chuckle from your column. Good work! Never Polled: Great subject and your take on it was very humorous. I’ve never been polled, either!
4. Paris News, Cherie Bell. Larry Flynt: Good column on subject not easily written about. Larry Flynt is certainly not an appealing subject, but you made your point without being preachy. Good job! Reclusive Socialite: Nice column. Gives an interesting slant to someone who people knew but didn’t really know. Nice!
Editorials
1. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, Margaret Edmonson. City Should Strive for Balance: Very well written and point made. Drug Incident: Interesting take on a subject that interests a lot of readers.
2. Texas City Sun. Dog Rescue: Writer has a good way with words that makes reading enjoyable. Tragic Case: Point well made.
3. McKinney Courier-Gazette. Both Sides Should Seek Solution: Great lead forces you to read on. Father’s Day: Great job of transition throughout editorial. Well written.
4. Kerrville Daily Times. Mental Illness: Takes a difficult subject and clarifies what could be confusing. Toast to America: Writer shows an excellent grasp of history and does an excellent job of presenting a cause for celebration.
Feature Story
1. Rosenberg Herald-Coaster. Denise Adams, No Sugar or TV: Good subject. I’m glad the family opened their home. Could have used a sidebar on “how to” in the reader’s home. B.J. Pollock, Memory of Nazi Atrocities: Memory stories should have a tie to the present.
2. Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. Jennifer Roolf, Mouse Ranching: Great subject. Page looks good, story flows well. Try not to jump around photo. Hard alone. Elaine Hernandez Soto, Chinese Cuisine Queen: Photo is static. Story rambles. Learn the value of word “said.” Nice variety of sentence length, structure.
3. Texas City Sun. Dale Dimitri, Beekeepers: Nice heads, package. Nice color. Design does what it should. Try more subheads. Story needs more focus. Kristie Watthuber, Mother’s Child Has AIDS: Story needs focus. Design helps these stories a great deal.
4. Kilgore News Herald. Buck Ringgold, Tall in Saddle: Some effort went into this package. Nice action photo. Solid writing. Design a little too elaborate. Is this your photo? Give credit. Winston Gardner, Witness to History: Editor’s note. not needed. Nice first-person piece. Gives big international event a local focus.
News Writing
1. McKinney Courier-Gazette. Sills story is incredible. Great reporting. The blood detail was too much. Wow. I was very interested and read it all easily. Lead needed to state something about Sills. Tell your page designer not to use pink headlines. The Westminster story is also well done. Y’all must have great contacts. The story needed some tightening. Also, try to avoid the sentence construction, ‘Smith said” as your start. Say first what he said, then add a comma and “Smith said” at the end.
2. Conroe Courier. Driving story: While the writing is fine, the point of the story seems unclear. More of an effort should have been made to talk to other senior citizens or to find others targeted for Medical Advisory Board. Obviously, though, the writer did a lot of work on this story. Workers: Good reporting. Really nice description. But we need to hear something from the contractors who hire them. The sidebars help to give different perspectives —nice job.
3. Plainview Daily Herald. Stoker story sizzles, no pun intended! I can see it. It’s visual and well organized. Nice job. Lead is great. Housing Authority story is a little hard to follow, but has great quotes.
4. Rosenberg Herald-Coaster. Bake Sale: Hilarious! I’ll bet it was well read. You guys (y’all, whatever) must have good contacts to get that. The lead should have been more straightforward, though. Tornado: Nice detail. Y’all really got out there and talked to people and used your eyes to report. Great reporting.
Page Design
1. Texas City Sun. Now we’re talking design! A showpiece. Photos of band and old veteran are fabulous. Great color work, too. Every front is nice (sports perhaps weakest of Oct. 5 pages): Great work, folks. It was a pleasure looking at your paper. Your hard work and attention to detail show front-to-back, top-to-bottom. I’m proud of you!
2. Paris News. Great work! Page 1 color off slightly, but photos throughout great! Page lB (sports) layout terrific, even without color. Big Top layout good. Body of story needs a couple of classy little design elements — drop caps or a quote box. Well done!
3. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Page 1 very warm and fuzzy — inviting. Photos terrific; color work, the tops. Good attention to detail. Inside pages a bit more common. Layouts are O.K., but lack the creativity needed to win first place. Good work, though.
4. Conroe Courier. Attractive color work; contemporary layout looks very nice on fronts; inside routine to very gray. Insert some quotes and a capital letter in paragraphs. Left column of page 1 clear, attractive. Sports page 1 too cluttered — move some graphics inside. Page 2B is barren. Come up with some unique little elements that will set your paper apart from others. Get sponsors for that nice weather box! It’s good stuff that someone will pay for!
Photography
1. Athens Daily Review. Charles Stiff, Drug Raid:> Right place at the right time! Brian Spurling, Airborne Quarterback: Great sports action. D.J. Peters, Cannon Shot: This photo puts you right in the action.
2. McKinney Courier-Gazette, Ryan Holohan. Day in Park: Nice, sunny day feature photo. Barn Bumer: Tells the story and nice use of available light. Hostages: Brings the reader into the emotion of the situation.
3. Huntsville Item, Richard Nira. Graduation Celebration: Nice moment. Standoff: Technical aspects aside, captures the moment. The right photo to lead. Mom Awaits Son’s Execution: Helps the reader understand the families’ emotion.
4. Rosenberg Herald-Coaster. Richard Zagrzecki, Fireman Takes Break: No comment. Russell Autry, Rain Dance: Great sunny day feature photo! Russell Autry, Kids and Icicles: Great expression.
Sports Coverage
1. Texas City Sun. Presentation was great along with some really solid writing. Nice local briefs package and modular design.
2. New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Nice use of color and photos. Design was clean and reader-friendly. Writing was interesting and good balance of coverage. Clearly showed what sports were important to the area.
3. Huntsville Item. Good use of color, graphics and feature story content. Gave readers solid writing and plenty of useful information in a useful package.
4. Baytown Sun. Outside photo play set this entry back. Photos need to run bigger. That forces the stories to be more compact and deliver greater impact. Design was modular and effective. Headlines.
Division 3 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More
General Excellence
1. Round Rock Leader. Lookslike, a winner. Page 1 flag seems cluttered but use of color saves it. Nice work. Maybe some effort could be injected. Auto section. “Homefront” excellent! Give’m more local on editorial pages (but that always applies).
2. Hood County News. Front page almost too much like a circus, but why not put photo text in sans serif? Really like your organization on Community Bulletin Board — good effort! Real Estate Guide looks profitable. Sports shows variety. Where’s a local editor to complement the two local columnists?
3. Williamson County Sun, Georgetown. Do you write editorials? (Yesteryears tops the page? Yuck.) Keep up the good writing in “Pulling Hair.” Nice graphic display on Roundabout. Lots of locally generated copy here — good for you! This product deserves spot/process color. CountyLife a real plus. Tornado rampage photos — give me some property/ people and less storm (although the tornado shots were good — but I’ve seen thousands like these on page 1 IA). Map was a good idea.
4. Wharton Journal-Spectator. Issue No. 68: nice use of color on front. Letters columns show good reader interest. Sports pages offer great variety in coverage. Layout of dateline attractive — keep that type size big. Photo composition/production generally good. Suggest fewer recipes and $2 feature for Lifestyles. Take “Looking Back” off Opinion page — will help avoid so many jumps. Is all copy on Editorial pages staff produced, as required by contest rules? Flag lettering blends too much with headlines. Resize? Different type?
Advertising
1. Polk County Enterprise, Livingston. Roses ad; good, good use of color. Originality and enterprise gains 1st place. Halloween Page: Great idea, relations. Doctors and Kids: Good, effective ad, can’t beat having kids in the picture.
2. Garland News. Good, effective landscape ad in process color. Good use of color, idea in Brides Day Out. Timberlawn ad is an effective small-space ad using process color.
3. Richardson News. Good use of color, especially with the overuse of red on ad placed beside Village Shopping Center. Nice process color in Ianos Trattoria ad. Really makes one want to visit the place to dine. Zozza’s gallery a good ad for only using a quarter-page.
4. Burleson Star. Good “progressive” ad showing quality of life in the community. Good use of color. Good institutional second ad, not much sell. Third ad good for back to school.
Column Writing
1. Marble Falls Highlander, Tia Rae Stone. Wrong Sung Blue: Nice, light writing style. “Wrong Sung” subject matter understandable by everyone. Humorous. Iridescent Lessons of War: You show a versatility in your writing, going from humor (Wrong Sung Blue) to serious.
2. Center Light and Champion, Matthew Postins. Sarcastic Valentine: Nice writing, however, a little wordy. Nice use of humor. Nixon Credibility: Good points about “busted” politics.
3. Hood County News, Granbury. Leland DeBusk, Hecko and Jecko: Nice use of humor and column structure. Mason and A.J.: Touching.
4. Polk County Enterprise, Dianna LeBarron. Piney in the Holler: You tried for a homey, backwoods feel in this column and you achieved it. Nice, light style. Thou Shalt Not Forget: Very funny story. Well presented.
Editorials
1. Williamson County Sun. Keep Our Community Whole: You handled this issue in a positive manner. All for one, and one for all. Ultimatums Feed Discord: Three cheers to you for laying out the issue and offering suggestions on how it should be handled. Again, you took a negative matter and tried to be positive.
2. Wise County Messenger. Decatur. Overzealous Police: Well-written piece. I enjoyed the note that one of the complaining businessmen wasn’t open when other businesses were enjoying a booming business. Also a good comment on the fact that others would have been upset had the police not diverted traffic and got a firetruck stuck in traffic. Abuse Hits Home: You scored some points. But do you really believe all pedophiles are male?
3. Uvalde Leader-News. City Law and Disorder: Fine effort. Well written. Call It a Junket: Great piece, until the end. The final sentence seems more than a bit self-serving.
4. Hood County News. Comanche Peak: You fail to offer a solution, outside of a huge donation by the current owners. Lady Pirate: Good job. More local papers should have the courage to tackle such emotional issues as how fans reactto sports events. The other editorial knocks you down a notch since both must be considered.
Feature Story
1. Williamson County Sun. J.B. Smith, From Corn to Horns: Well written, organized. Good photos. Nice package. This is a trend a lot of pieces are seeing. Tracy Karol, Prison Bars: Heartbreaking, well written. Useful information. Watch out for the obvious stuff. Don’t beat readers over the head with things the story will tell them through facts, quotes.
2. Cedar Creek Pilot, Gun Barrel City. Barbara Gartman, Kemp Teacher’s Aide: Cute. Headlines draw the reader in. Photo could have been an action shot. Edit carefully, please. Cut judiciously. Robby Robertson, Comeback Kid: Good quotes. Story flows well. Obviously he was under some kind of stress —but what? Dive in, ask the hard question. It’ll be a better story. Bad color reproduction.
3. Garland News. James Covert, Monkey Business: Makes great photos, but a step-by-step would have better explained the process. Nice writing, flows well. Karin Shaw Anderson, Teen Suicides: Informational — but place a face on it. Talk to a teen who has attempted suicide. Makes a much more compelling story.
4. Marble Falls Highlander. Tia Rae Stone, Mother’s Pain: Story gets to the point, no pun intended, right away — good. Needs to be a little more cohesive. Difficult subject. We need to see the family. Hands are emotional, but they’re not faces. Andy Rhodes, Free Bird: Nice story, a heartwarming piece. Not sure it was worth the whole page.
News Writing
1. Garland News. I love your hard news lead on the Dec. 25-27 story. It doesn’t judge. Trial story is too long. Twenty inches, max. Good lead and solid reporting.
2. Bastrop Advertiser. Copy story, 11/29, is great story. Background helps. Aqua story is really interesting. Nice job.
3. Beeville Bee-Picayune. Nice action verbs in escapee story, but bad headline — too obvious. Lead in rescue story is cliche. Did he just come back to thank them? That should be high in story.
4. Burleson Star. Restaurant story is far too long. The importance of a story is not proportional to its length. I am impressed that you called all those restaurants.
Page Design
1. Wise County Messenger. I really like this paper. Front page is super. Sports page needs a vertical element. Editorial page is really nice. You are lucky to have so many letters.
2. Garland News. Really nice paper. I like front page, but cutline type a little too large. Good editorial page. Good sports page. Lifestyles page is really nice.
3. Williamson County Sun. Really nice paper. Would love to see what you could do with color. Sports page looks super. So does prom. I like your flag. Very clean.
4. Cedar Creek Pilot. I like the front page. Your sports page photo and sports talk column blew out when shot. Overall nice work.
Photography
1. Williamson County Sun, Taylor Jones. Skate: Compression of subject with long lens leads readers to subject’s eye. Captures the tension, danger and excitement of the “misty flip.” So Close: Excellent composition. Captures the widely differing reactions of the girls. Probably the best way to communicate the whole school’s feelings about losing. Boy Carrying Pumpkin: Timing is excellent in capturing this young pumpkin hunter’s strain at carrying his prize. Good composition, though a bit loose on left side.
2. Hood County News, Leland DeBusk. Bad Reflection: Great way to see things from a different angle. Too many columns in cutline. Shows you want to show the world in a new way. Firefighters: Great moment in a dangerous situation. Horrible headline dtopped on picture (bad design). You captured essence of firefighters’ frustration with bulky equipment. Striking Gold: Good composition. Cutline puts it in perspective. Colors really capture essence of the end of a hot day.
3. El Campo Leader-News. Shannon Crabtree, Firefighters Searching: Captures sense of urgency searching for girl. Good composition, might have been a bit better a few inches to the left. Chase Ends: Good composition: Angle of suspect’s body gives the sense of movement. Bit of blur doesn’t hurt much. Good hustle. Chris Barbee, Going for Gold: Good, tight shot, shows the strain. Tough sport to get good photos.
4. Cedar Creek Pilot. Charles Stiff, Busted: Good work getting in close to the action. Captured the raid well with a tense moment. Andrea Kieffer, Flying High in Mabank: Nice, clean picture captures the intensity of the action. Too bad it was a practice, but its a preview, so O.K. Good use of space. Foggy Mornings, Drizzly Days: Good use of lines. Shows you are willing to look at the little things. Readers love weather. You made it sing.
Sports Coverage
1. Williamson County Sun. Poor grammar in stories.
2. Wise County Messenger. Too many one-source stories. Talk to more players. Photos are too close in size. Make one dominant.
3. Cedar Creek Pilot. Don’t compare high school to pros. “Field of Dreams” references are cliche. Lose those shadows on pull-out boxes.
4. El Campo Leader-News. Too many one- and two-source stories. No features. Photos are too close in size. Need to make one dominant and catch lines should only be used with stand-alones. Lead heads are too small.
Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less
General Excellence
1. Rockwall Texas Success. Why not put local feature/pic at top of fold? Good use of color. Good content. Lots of local news. Nice, clean paper. Well designed.
2. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Good news coverage. Header should remain same color.
3. Andrews County News. Lots of good page 1 stories, which are well written. Why is football the lead photo? Excellent photo coverage of sports inside, but why are football pictures running with story about baseball in Sept. 28 issue? Confuses reader. I like the front-page column.
4. Clifton Record. Too many colors on front page. Screens should be only over a small amount of type and the type should be larger. Good local information. Good color on the coloring contest. Letters to Santa: Letters could have been at top and built ads at bottom. Very hard to read. Clean typesetting. Front page way too busy. Too many elements.
Advertising
1. Clifton Record. Nice Miracle Worker ad, good originality, good use of flag. Use of young girl in Gloff ad good. Otherwise ordinary ad until you get to the third one. Good use of color in Gloff Motors ad.
2. Childress Index. Good copy leading up to the opening of Steak Ranch. Give you a good in art work on second ad. I detest ads upside down as I would guess you do. Thanks for placing part of copy right side up so people know you did it on purpose.
3. Commerce Journal. Good originality in Pavarotti’s Villa ad. Nothing very unusual in First American ad. Press work could be improved in Toys for Tots ad.
4. Lamesa Press Reporter. Good West Texas Gas ad. Clean. Good use of color, but otherwise a plain ad. Luker’s Outfitters: Good ad, presented well. Heartland Wire1ess: Ordinary ad.
Column Writing
1. Gonzales Inquirer, Jim Cunningham. Love: A very humorous column. Tom-Tom: Column says it all about right.
2. Childress Index, Clemi Higley Blackburn. House Bill 293: Your nice touch enhances readability. Republic of Texas: Enjoyable reading throughout.
3. Gonzales Inquirer, Charles Wood. Dyin’: Very funny and so very true. Cow Pie Syndrome: Excellent analogy.
4. Andrews County News, James Roberts. Squealin’ Like Pigs: Tried to squeeze too much into one column. Extreme Cold: Cleverly written and enjoyable to read.
Editorials
1. Perryton Herald. Accept the Gift: Good job of making your point. Accept Road Funds: You really drove home your plan with the comparison of the value of the one commercial hog farm to the rest of the county’s farms.
2. Andrews County News. Willing Hands, Willing Hearts: Heartfelt plea for good small-town cause.
3. Clifton Record. School Bonds: Nice pat on the back for your community. Dragons Abound: Kudos to your firefighters.
4. Angleton Times, Tommy Crow. Assessment Testing: Good assessment of the problem of over-assessing our students. Loosen Strings: I couldn’t agree more. I hated it when they brought some of our “finest” back home. I wish they would have been left in Texas.
Feature Story
1. Commerce Journal, C.D. Reed. Ivy League to Small Town: Good use of photos, although it is a little dark. Story is well written and I believe and know the subject when I’m done. Two Churches, One Heart: It is difficult to write a feature with an inanimate object as the focus, but you have done a good job putting people in the story. It’s a nice piece. The picture could use a person, though.
2. Clifton Record. Carol Moulton, Pastor to Leave: Good use of color photo. Article is well written and one knows the subject at the end. David Anderson, 30-Year Anniversary: This is a difficult subject because it takes a lot of information. The team photo would have been better if you had enlarged it.
3. Alvin Sun, Kim Tilley. No Slowing Down Buck: There are a couple of minor mistakes, such as “pickup which he bought.” It should be “that.” Good use of color and nice layout. Lucky Dog: Nice layout and use of color. Pictures are clear and help illustrate the story. Perhaps more focus should have been given to Collins and her dedication. After all, dogs don’t buy newspapers.
4. Atlanta Citizens Journal, Sheila McBain. Bird Houses: Did the birds tell you that? Just kidding, but birds don’t buy his houses. People do. The story is well written and the photo is nice. Try getting closer and make the picture less busy. Price of Freedom: This is a nice piece. It’s a good use of photo, but it could be closer and more in focus.
News Writing
1. Angleton Times. Both good stories, well presented. Hot property: an important story — ho-hum lead. Very good story presentation.
2. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Ball Cap Bandit: Well-written piece about an arrest. Perhaps overplayed a bit, with lots of routine detail that’s unnecessary. Ground Zero: Pretty good story, but this late follow-up should have a lead with some fresh detail. Good writing, though.
3. Gonzales Inquirer. Noxious: Good lead! Why not break out a couple of sidebars? Story is way too long. Interesting story with a too-long lead. Also gets into details that don’t add much.
4. Lamesa Press Reporter. Fuller: Old crime shouldn’t be the lead. Couple: Good for a lead but let’s leave Doyle and Ruthie a bit sooner.
Page Design
1. Rockwall Texas Success. Page 1 O.K., but inside fronts very nice. Page 1 should look as good. Flag lacks creativity and “Inside” box clutters it. Page 1 needs dominant element.
2. Lamesa Press Reporter. Design O.K. but common. Heavy rules should go. Body copy typeface heavy. Inside fronts need design work. Showing some effort at creativity. Steal from winners in bigger classes.
3. Clifton Record. Nice color but bold rules too heavy. Fading, bleeding colors in flag very attractive. Page 1 cluttered. Other pages common. Those black rules detract from nice graphics.
4. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Flag’s attractive. Below that, quite routine in design. Flag element theme through pages a nice feature. Look at winners from other divisions — the bigger papers — and learn and steal from them.
Photography
1. Rockwall Texas Success, Richard Robinson. Track Classic: Nice moment, captured the impact of landing just right. 1-30 Car Chase: Not a bad picture. Should have tightened up on composition. Good moment with too loose a crop.
2. Commerce Journal, Rick Vanderpool. Football Players: Nice moment. Different angle on common situation. Good job. Cheering On: Good seeing. Catches intensity of the moment well. Good use of a long lens to zero in on what is important. End of Dream: Quiet moment between father and daughter. Good eye to catch this less-than-rowdy moment. Good use of lens and framing.
3. Bowie News. Kyle Robertson, Longjumper: Great job capturing a difficult subject. Good angle, timing, focus. Best sports photo in this category. Barbara Beckwith, Tank Fire: Good composition in tough lighting. Shows the impact of the blaze well. Beckwith, Precious Stream: Good composition, use of lens. Good timing.
4. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Lisa Carnley, Udderly Exhausted: Nice, quiet moment. Clean composition, captures the essence of the livestock show and what it means to many people. Fred Lowe, Running Back: Pretty good football picture, kind of loose. Was this player important throughout the game? Shows lopsided nature of the game. Jim Lowe, Fire: Decent composition. Could have been a bit tighter. Captures the devastation well.
Sports Coverage
1. Lampasas Dispatch Record. Stories could use more life to player quotes. Needs player profiles, enterprise, etc.
2. Angleton Times. Too many dull AP news leads in local copy. Need two or three photos on cover with one dominant. Headlines all seem to be same size. You need a dominant head. Need profile stories.
3. Bowie News. Watch out for cliches such as “In the third quarter, Bowie exploded.” I doubt his guts were splattered on the gym floor. Photos are too close in size. Make one dominant.
4. Rockwall Texas Success. Volleyball story with the jeopardy question comes off as a jab at the team — inappropriate for covering high schools. Decent layout.
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