Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Thompson wins regional journalism award
[The Great Plains Journalism Awards] honors print, web, TV and magazine journalists for outstanding stories, photography and design.
Doug Thompson, political editor of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, won the 2017
Great Plains Journalism award for editorial portfolio, the Tulsa
Press Club announced Monday.
Thompson and Dan Holtmeyer, a staff writer, also are finalists in the general news category, while the paper’s staff was named a finalist in the special section category for “Making Connections.”
Staff of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette won four categories: Lisa Hammersly and Brian Fanney, project/investigative reporting; Jessica Seaman and Emily Walkenhorst, business feature; Kelly Brant, food; and Mitchell Masilun, general news photography.
Finalists of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette are: Jeannie Roberts, narrative story/ series; John Brummett, personal column portfolio; Brian Fanney, business reporting; John Deering, editorial cartoon; Paul Sawyer, headline portfolio; and John Sykes Jr., portrait photography. Stephen Thornton was a finalist in three photography categories: spot news, feature and sports action.
Matt Jones of the website WholeHogSports.com was a finalist for sports blog. The website combines original content with coverage of the Arkansas Razorbacks from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Hawgs Illustrated magazine.
The Great Plains Journalism Awards is a regional contest hosted by the press club. It honors print, web, TV and magazine journalists for outstanding stories, photography and design. The eight-state competition includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
More than 600 entries were received this year, with winners and finalists named in 70 professional and student categories.