Echo Press wins 10 awards in state newspaper contest
The Echo Press won 10 awards in the 2010-2011 Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Minnesota Newspaper Association. Representatives from the newspaper picked up the awards at the MNA’s annual convention in Bloomington last Thursday.
- MNA winners
The Echo Press won 10 awards in the 2010-2011 Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
Representatives from the newspaper picked up the awards at the MNA’s annual convention in Bloomington last Thursday.
The awards, determined by judges from award-winning newspapers in other states, were presented in many different categories – news, advertising, design, online and more.
A total of 3,447 entries from newspapers across the state were entered into the contest.
The Echo Press was honored in the following categories:
• Website, first place. The judges liked the newspaper’s user-friendly home page. “Nice use of external links; particularly liked recipe card, blog links and ‘Talk About This Topic,’ ” noted a judge.
It’s the fourth straight year the Echo Press website was named the best in the state in its category, weekly newspapers with a circulation of 5,000 or more.
• Headline writing, first place. “Good use of strong verbs,” a judge noted. “The headlines were clear and often clever.”
• Innovative online advertising, first place. The judges were impressed with the work of graphics artist Jenny Wagner and sales representative Shelly Beaulieu.
They created a series of eye-catching ads for Karrow Jewelers featuring a “thinking” diamond ring. “Love it!” said a judge. “These ads are speaking directly to the buyer and in a most creative way.
• Innovative online advertising, second place. The Echo Press swept this category when the judges awarded graphics artist Nichole Roell and publisher Jody Hanson a second place award for their Steinbring Motorcoach ads. “Great use of photos,” noted a judge.
• Best advertisement, first place. Graphics artists Deb Zens and Karla Mikkelson, along with sales representative Izzy Rusch, earned the top award for their “Super Pizza Party” coupon ad for local pizza restaurants. “Each coupon stands alone as a well-designed piece, but the impact of the whole page is fantastic,” said a judge.
• Best advertisement, second place. The Echo Press swept this category also, winning the second place award for an ad created by Roell and Rusch for Frontier Powersports of Fergus Falls. “Stunning!” a judge said.
• Advertising campaign, first place. In a category open to all individuals, Roell and sales representative Stacy Haaven earned top honors for their ad work with Integrity Title. “Very professional,” said a judge.
• Editorial page as a whole, second place. This award judged the opinion pages of newspapers. “Good local content and lots of letters,” said a judge.
• Design portfolio, second place. Mikkelson was honored for her work in graphics and art that accompanied newspaper stories. “The competition here was tremendous, but this entry slipped ahead of the others because of its excellent use of graphics and color,” said a judge. “Very eye-catching.”
• Institutional advertisement, honorable mention. Zens, Mikkelson and Rusch earned the honor for the Super Pizza Party ad that was also entered in the best advertisement category. “Cute/unique way to advertise coupons for a pizza event,” said a judge.
OTHER NOTABLE HONORS
The Osakis Review received an honorable mention award in the prestigious general reporting category, weeklies up to 1,500 circulation. Osakis Review Editor Amy Chaffins accepted the award.
“Responsible reporting style, good variety of topics, including features and health. Thorough reflection of a community for a small paper – an accomplishment. Amy Chaffins’ work in particular warrants recognition,” noted a judge.
The coveted Mills Trophy – a traveling trophy awarded to the weekly newspaper that accumulates the most points in the contest – went to the Detroit Lakes Tribune, which is part of Forum Communications.
The Parkers Prairie Independent earned three big awards in the contest – general excellence (first place), best use of social media (first place) and press photographer’s portfolio (first place) to Jakki Wehking.
AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
The Echo Press won the following awards in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest:
Website – first place (weeklies over 5,000 circulation).
Headline writing – first place (weeklies over 5,000).
Innovative online advertising – first place to Jenny Wagner and Shelly Beaulieu (all weeklies).
Innovative online advertising – second place to Nichole Roell and Jody Hanson (all weeklies)
Best advertisement – first place to Deb Zens, Karla Mikkelson and Izzy Rusch (weeklies over 5,000).
Best advertisement – second place to Nichole Roell and Izzy Rusch.
Advertising campaign – first place to Nichole Roell and Stacy Haaven (all individuals).
Editorial page as a whole – second place (weeklies over 5,000)
Design portfolio – second place to Karla Mikkelson (all weeklies).
Institutional advertisement – honorable mention to Deb Zens, Karla Mikkelson and Izzy Rusch.
Tags: local news, news
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