Newspaper wins General Excellence Award from APME
The Sentinel-Record recently received a total of 36 awards, including General Excellence, in the 2016 Arkansas Associated Press Media Editors contest.
Winners of the annual contest were announced online April 13. This year, newspapers in three circulation divisions competed in more than 20 categories, including General Excellence. The Sentinel-Record competes in Division II.
In addition to General Excellence, the newspaper’s website and other digital offerings received a second-place award in the Digital category.
The newspaper received firstplace awards for Spot News Story, Spot News Photo, Editorial Writing, Beat Reporting, Health-Related Topics, Special Project-Community Service, Photographer’s Portfolio, Feature Photo, Page Design, and Service to FOIA.
First place in Spot News Story was awarded to David Showers and Steven Mross for their reporting on the 70 West Plaza fire. Second place, awarded to the staff, was for coverage of a fatal shootout involving the Mountain Pine police chief. Mross, the newspaper’s managing editor, also received third place in the category for reporting on the evacuation of a neighborhood forced by the discovery of what was initially thought to be a Civil
War-era land mine.
News Editor Tom Ritchey received a first-place award for Page Design for the newspaper’s coverage of the plaza fire, while photographer Mara Kuhn received a third-place award for Spot News Photo for a photograph of the fire, which was featured prominently on the front page that day. Ritchey also won second place in Headline Writing.
Showers also took first place in Beat Reporting, for his coverage of the Stanley family’s battle with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and secondand third-place awards for Business Reporting.
Staff writer Jay Bell received a first-place award for Health-Related Topics for one installment of his 11-part series on suicides in Garland County. The series overall won a second-place award for Special-Project Community Service. The judge in that category stated, “With suicides at an alarming rate in Garland County, The Sentinel-Record took an in-depth look at the issue in their community with an 11-part series. The series well highlighted the problem and prevention efforts. Jay Bell’s well-written series is an example of how a newspaper can shine a light on an important issue in the community and be a catalyst for change.”
Bell also took first place in the Special-Project Community Service Category, for his series “Transgender Students Add Voices to Public Debate.”
Photographer Richard Rasmussen received the first-place Spot News Photo award for his photograph of a woman being pulled from a wrecked car as another car burned in the background following a collision on south Central Avenue on July 8, 2016. Rasmussen also received a first-place award for Photographer’s Portfolio and first place in Feature Photo, along with a second-place award for Spot Sports Photo.
Editor Mark Gregory received first- and third-place awards for Editorial Writing. The first-place award was given for an editorial advocating passage of a countywide sales tax to fund road improvement projects, which voters later approved.
Gregory also received a second-place award in Column-Hard News, for writing about the anniversary of 9/11, a third-place award for Column-Lifestyle-Human Interest, third place for Headline, and second place for Non-Traditional News Item, for the newspaper’s year-end roundup.
Kuhn also received secondand third-place awards for Feature Photo and Feature Sports Photo, and second place for Photographer’s Portfolio.
Former staff writer Colbie McCloud received a first-place award for Service to FOI, for her article detailing the newspaper’s efforts to have law enforcement records released in the case of a retired principal accused of sexual assault. McCloud also received second-place awards for Beat Reporting and Column-Lifestyle-Human Interest.
Sports Editor Bob Wisener won second-place awards for Sports Story, for his coverage of the Rebel Handicap, and for Sports Feature, for coverage of the Racing Festival of the South. Wisener received third place in Sports Column.
Staff writer Zach Parker received a third-place award for Sports Feature, for the cover story on the newspaper’s annual fall football preview.