The 2018 Colorado Press Association Better Newspaper Contest awards were announced during the association’s 141st annual convention in Aurora on April 13.
The contest was judged by industry experts in journalism, information and design, and advertising from the Missouri Press Association.
The SUN won first place in the advertising division for the Pagosa Springs Official Visitor Guide summer edition by Shari Pierce and Terri House. The judge commented: “Massive special section. Incredible effort. Excellent content, photos, layout, etc. Very well done.”
House won second place for Best Cover Design featuring a stunning photo of a columbine taken by local photographer Beth Tollefsen. The judge commented: “Eye-catching main photo. Secondary images give the reader a quick idea of what’s inside. Strong field overall.”
The SUN won first place for Best Editorial Special Section in the newsprint category for its hunting publication — The Hunt. The judge’s comment: “Good, useful information paired with local character. A great way to get people to read what they need.” That award went to Missy Phelan, Pierce and House.
Also in Best Editorial Special Section, in the glossy magazine category, the work of Shari Pierce, Randi Pierce, Chris Mannara, Avery Martinez, Phelan and House brought home a second place-award for the Pagosa Springs Real Estate and Relocation Guide.
Shari Pierce’s ad for Café Colorado’s ice cream won second place for Best Restaurant or Dining Ad.
Shari Pierce garnered a first place for Best Black and White Ad for Interior Dreams, with the judge writing: “I like this ad because I don’t have to guess what it’s for. It’s brief, it’s clear, it’s to the point. You don’t get lost or immediately want to skip over ads like this.”
First place for Best Medium Space Ad went to Shari Pierce for Terry’s Colorado Home Supply “Thanksgiving weekend of savings.” The judge wrote: “I like the white next to the center. That gave it eye appeal.”
Second place for Best Health Care Ad went to Shari Pierce’s ad for Monroe Chiropractic. The judge wrote: “Good idea to feature that it’s just $50 and accepts cash. Really goes after the market that is cautious of high healthcare costs (which I think is a significant population these days).”
The SUN’s Honoring Veterans section by Shari Pierce, House and Lauren Hawksworth was awarded second place, with the judge commenting: “A real winner in community support of our vets - very strong layout - neat, and impressive.”
Second place for Best Classified Pages went to the team of Shana Young-Gawdun, Phelan and House.
Sweeping the Public Service category, Randi Pierce, Mannara and House were honored with first place for extensive coverage of the San Juan Water Conservancy District. “It’s not always sexy, but public utilities tend to generate public interest like few other topics -- even more so when surrounded by such a stench of corruption. The exhaustive coverage here no doubt helped hold them accountable to citizens. Nice watchdog work represented here, with a newspaper holding local institutions accountable to taxpayers … ,” the judge commented.
Second place went to Mannara’s thorough coverage of Archuleta School District’s process prior to going to the polls last November. The judge wrote, “Nice use of graphics and the wealth of district information to provide an aid for voters studying the ballot issue.”
House won first place for Best Investigative Story Package with the story “San Juan Water Conservancy District: Case moves to Colorado attorney general.”
House won first place for that same story in the Best Environmental Story category. The judge commented, “It’s incredible the amount of detail, in this story. The writer did a wonderful job following the emails and walking the reader through the tale.”
Mannara won second place for Best Education Story with his story “New Mexico students look for a fresh start in Archuleta School District.” The judge wrote: “This reporter is doing a great job writing about education for his audience. This story is but one example of his careful and detailed examination of issues affecting area students. This is a well-written story by a reporter dedicated to his beat and craft.”
Mannara also won first place for Best Feature Photograph of a crying baby who was sitting on Santa’s lap.
The points in the advertising division added up to The SUN winning the Advertising Sweepstakes in its category.
None of these awards would be possible without businesses using SUN advertising to grow their business and our thousands of readers who buy the newspaper to read about this community we call home. Thank you.
Terri Lynn Oldham House
