Daily News wins excellence award

The Havre Daily News won the General Excellence Award in its circulation category at the Montana Newspaper Association's 117th annual convention last weekend in Kalispell.

Judges with the Wyoming Press Association described the two editions submitted by the Havre Daily News as "solid writing and photos. All-in-all, just the best" in the category for daily and weekly newspapers in the 3,000- to 7,500-circulation range.

Other Havre entries won or placed in the news and advertising competitions for 2001 in its circulation category.

Stacy Fanning and Paula Reynolds took first and second in best single ad with process color, and honorable mention in best single ad with spot color and best advertising series. Fanning and Laurie Harvey received honorable mention in best single ad with process color, and Amber Newton received honorable mention in best single ad, noncolor.

Jason Shoot, who was sports editor at the Havre Daily News in half of 2001, took first in best sports event coverage, third in best sports feature story and second in best sports column writing.

Judge Jeff Robertson of the Wyoming Press Association called Shoot's entry in sports event coverage "contentious throughout."

Daily News sports editor Kim Staudinger took first in best sports feature story for an article about Havre freshman athlete Scott Robinson, and Staudinger and Daily News photographer and page designer Luke Vickrey received honorable mention for best sports page.

Vickrey took first for best lifestyles page, and Vickrey and Tim Leeds took second in best agricultural reporting. Tim Eberly took third in best short feature story, and Joe Whalen took third in best spot news coverage. Eberly and Whalen are no longer with the Daily News.

The Daily News received honorable mention in the best editorial page category, and publisher Harvey Brock received honorable mention in best editorial writing. Alan Sorensen received honorable mention in best column writing.

Other local papers honored at the awards were The Liberty County Times and Chinook's Journal News-Opinion.

Nikole Larson of the Liberty County Times took second in best single ad with spot color in Division I Weeklies, with distribution of 1,500 or less. Larson also took honorable mention in best sports picture and best single ad, noncolor. The Times' Jeanne Larson received honorable mention in best single ad with spot color.

The Journal News-Opinion received second in best single ad, noncolor, and honorable mention in best headline writing in Division II Weeklies, with circulation of 1,501 to 3,000.

The Great Falls Tribune won the Sam Gilluly Sweepstakes Award as the best newspaper in Division II Dailies, with more than 7,500 subscribers.

The Bigfork Eagle won the Thomas Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award for all Weekly and Division I Dailies.

The sweepstakes awards in the weekly and daily divisions of the Better Newspaper Contest are for issues printed during 2001 and are based on total points accumulated for placing in the various categories of the contest, which include feature and editorial writing, reporting, sports, photography, advertising, typography, and layout and design.

The Lewistown News-Argus took second in general excellence, and the Lone Peak Lookout took third, in the Division I Daily/Division III Weekly category.

Other major award winners included:

General Excellence, Advertising: Weeklies, Division I (1,500 or less total distribution), Bigfork Eagle, first; Circle Banner, second; Philipsburg Mail, third. Weeklies, Division II (1,501-3,000), Choteau Acantha, first; Dillon Tribune, second; Tobacco Valley News (Eureka), third. Weeklies, Division III/Dailies, Division I (3,001-7,499), Lone Peak Lookout (Big Sky), first; Laurel Outlook, second; Ravalli Republic, third. Dailies, Division II (More than 7,500), The Missoulian, first; Bozeman Daily Chronicle, second; Great Falls Tribune, third.

Excellence in Design, Presentation and Use of Photos: Weeklies, Division I (1,500 or less total distribution), Bigfork Eagle, first; Jefferson County Courier, second; West Yellowstone News, third; Cascade Courier, honorable mention. Weeklies, Division II (1,501-3,000), Dillon Tribune, first; Tobacco Valley News, second; High Country Independent Press (Belgrade), third; Carbon County News (red Lodge) honorable mention. Weeklies, Division III/Dailies, Division I (3,001-7,499), Hungry Horse News, first; Whitefish Pilot, second; Laurel Outlook, third; Ravalli Republic, honorable mention. Dailies, Division II (More than 7,500), Great Falls Tribune, first; Billings Gazette, second; Bozeman Daily Chronicle, third.

Community Service: Weeklies, Division I, Jefferson County Courier, first and second; West Yellowstone News, third. Weeklies, Division II, Dillon Tribune, first; Tobacco Valley News, second. Weeklies, Division III/Dailies, Division I, Lewistown News-Argus, first; Miles City Star, second and third; Ravalli Republic, honorable mention. Dailies, Division II (More than 7,500), Great Falls Tribune, first; Billings Gazette, second; Daily Inter Lake, third; Great Falls Tribune, honorable mention.

General Excellence: Weeklies, Division I, West Yellowstone News, first; Bigfork Eagle, second; Cascade Courier, third; Judith Basin Press, honorable mention. Weeklies, Division II, Choteau Acantha, first; Tobacco Valley News, second; High Country Independent Press, third; Stillwater County News (Columbus), honorable mention. Dailies, Division II, Great Falls Tribune, first; Billings Gazette, second; Bozeman Daily Chronicle, third.

Sweepstakes Awards (from which the Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award winner was selected): Weeklies, Division I, Bigfork Eagle; Weeklies, Division II, Tobacco Valley News; and Weeklies, Division III/Dailies, Division I, Ravalli Republic.

There were 2,420 individual and newspaper entries representing 53 of the 84 MNA newspapers in the contest, which was judged by members of the Wyoming Press Association in April in Sheridan, Wyo. Both the total number of entries and the number of participating newspapers are records for the annual competition.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.