2006 Better Newspaper Contest — Page Design

Page Design

View Winners' Slideshow

Division 2 Dailies 7,000 to 99,999

1. Laredo Morning Times - Great typography; like kickers; very strong in news and sports.

2. The Beaumont Enterprise - Very strong in features and opinion; needs improvement in graphics, headline hierarchy.

3. The Courier, Conroe - Good photos; like the rail; strong in news, sports.

4. Lufkin Daily News - Very nice 1A package, features front.

Division 3 Dailies Less Than 7,000

1. Terrell Tribune - Page 1 is well organized, restrained type contrasts make the paper easy to read, inviting. Graphics on quilts page are a nice touch. Opinion page is a little bland. Nice innovation and color reproduction on sports page. Pages reflect a willingness to experiment and take some creative risks without going overboard with garish elements.

2. McKinney Courier-Gazette - Nice op/ed page, has a good balance of copy and art. Nice job with photo and color reproduction. Page 1 needs more organization below the fold, all artwork is concentrated above the fold - balance and scatter art around the page. Boxes on lifestyle pages are a little heavy handed.

3. Plainview Daily Herald - Organized, modular design throughout. Type contrasts in size and weight builds hierarchy and sense of direction on each page. Each page usually features a strong center of visual interest with a dominant image, photos are a little soft on color pages, especially page 1.

4. Sweetwater Reporter - A very lively paper, visually. Lots of photos that showcase the life of a community. Borders on being a little chaotic on some pages with too many photos or too many of the same size. Headline font on page 1 is very heavy, need some contrasting weight, such as those on sports page. Flag and skyboxes seem to take up too much space relative to the rest of the page, but they offer some visual contrast and variety that makes the page interesting.

Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More

1. Wise County Messenger - These pages jumped out at me. Great use of type, photos and white space! It's easy for the reader to tell what's going on and be drawn into the stories. Excellent work!

2. Hood County News - Very good use of photos and typography. Clear page hierarchy. The reader knows where to go. Good creativity on the sports page. Very nice overall!

3. Williamson County Sun - Nice clean pages. Very good use of photos! Loved the Renaissance page!

4. Wharton Journal-Spectator - Pages are clean and story hierarchy is clearly established. The reader can tell exactly what's important. Nice job!

Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less

1. Mansfield News-Mirror - Strong photography, especially on sports page, nice dominant center of visual interest on most pages along with pleasing type contrasts in headlines. Lots of open space above the flag on page 1 that seems like it could be put to better use or tightened up a bit, strong modular layout of stories keeps pages well-organized and accessible. Two "Fill it up" photos on page 1 are a little redundant.

2. The Canyon News - Nice banner and page 1 photo layout. Inside pages aren't as strong as page 1 though home living photos/layout are nice.

3. Copperas Cove Leader Press - Strong spot news photo on page 1, clean; well-organized inside pages, section head type and flag on page 1 are a little too big for me.

4. Lampasas Dispatch Record - Strong front page layout and photography. Paint drenched type seems a little excessive and takes away from good photos, but glad you're experimenting, keep at it, have fun.

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1. Houston Business Journal - Very clean design. Good use of photos. Inside pages very solid as well. Great photo cut-out in the Focus: Entertainment and arts section. Best in the category by far.

2. Park Cities People, Dallas - Overall clean design. Photos and headlines get appropriate play, though the sports front is too busy. Still a standout in the category.

3. Rockdale Reporter - Front page looks nice, but some might consider it too busy. Good centerpiece photo with the fire, though I would've run it bigger. Sports and lifestyle page design is stronger than the front page. Inside pages would benefit from a touch of white space, but that's a minor concern and isn't always possible. Overall, a solid presentation.

4. Pleasanton Express - In general, I think there's too much art, with some of the photos not particularly compelling. The living and sports fronts are more appealing than the front, but still would benefit from "less is more." Still, better than many in the category.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1. The Community News, Aledo - A clear winner. Beautiful use of typography! Not only are the pictures great, but the designer knew exactly how to use them to get the readers' attention. Well done!

2. The Countywide, Karnes City - Clean attractive pages that are easy to read without a lot of clutter. Good use of photos.

3. Lake Travis View, Lakeway - Attractive pages with clear hierarchy. Nice use of photos. I liked the use of the signatures on the Special Olympics letter on the opinion page. Good job!

4. The Cameron Herald - Good use of typography to direct the reader. Nice clean pages. Good use of photos on sports page.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1. West Austin News - Plantmobile package was creative way to get reader's attention. Loved the green car promo on the bottom of page one and Easter egg hunt package on the lifestyle page. Nice clean pages - clean hierarchy. Good job!

2. Iowa Park Leader - Very engaging! Easy to read. Photo usage very well done.

3. Lancaster Today - Easy to follow layout. Good job of getting lots of local faces in the paper in an attractive manner.

4. Pilot Point Post-Signal - Nice use of photos, but would have liked a box or ruler to separate the stand-alone picture on page 1. Easy to follow layout and good job overall.

Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies

1. The Canadian Record - The, shall we say, innovative nature of this design made judging it a challenge, but good typography. Like the magazine-style front, good photos and section head. Not bad, eh? (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Head and shoulders above the rest.

2. The Citizen, Clear Lake - Readable type, good use of color. Nice layout.

3. Van Alstyne Leader - Good action-oriented sports page.

4. Muleshoe Journal - Entry does a lot with grays and dark colors - shows you don't have to be colorful to be readable.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1. Alvarado Star - Very good use of typography throughout. Clean and sophisticated on the front and inside. Very nice job overall.

2. The Clarendon Enterprise - Very nice, clean layout - no clutter. Easy to read. Easy to follow. Good use of photos on the front and throughout.

3. East Bernard Express - Excellent job with the veterans story on page one! I really wanted to sit down and read the whole thing. The designer does a good job getting the reader into the pages.

4. The Eldorado Success - Clean, easy to read.