The Sun Advocate won 10 first-place plaques – weighing 17.5 pounds in all – and earned certificates for second and third in other categories in the Utah Press Association Better Newspapers 2016 competition.
The entries from Utah newspapers were judged by colleagues in the Nevada press this year.
The first-place winners included:
Best Digital Breaking News
Rick Sherman won this for his late-night, early-morning reporting of a double homicide near Hiawatha.
Best Feature Story
This was for Sierra Trujillo’s story, “A yuletide yarn for Christmas,” which featured a woman who knitted hundreds of gifts.
Best Feature Series
John Serfustini’s ongoing coverage of Helper’s infrastructure rebuilding earned a 1.75 pound plaque.
Best Editor’s/Feature Column
Publisher Jenni Fasselin won this for three of her columns, one of which was “A lady battles a bull.” This was about how our 98-pound boss single-handedly (and skirtless) stopped a big bull in his tracks and herded him back home. Another item was “It takes a village to raise a publisher.”
Best News Photograph
John Serfustini’s photo captured a story about Helper’s Main Street businesses struggling to stay viable during the big dig on infrastructure. It showed diners in a restaurant with road work reflected in the glass window.
Best News Series
Coverage of the closing of a 1970 Price murder case was a staff effort spearheaded by retired publisher and contributing writer Richard Shaw, who had followed the story for six years.
Best Lifestyle Page
This was for the newspapers “Perspectives” pages, which have consolidated opinion, letters to the editor and general interest feature stories.
Best Use of Ad Color
Graphic artist Jamie Swank won this for her work on advertising for Bill’s Home Furnishings.
Best Advertising Idea
This was a staff effort leading to the “Castle Country Experts” advertising campaign.
Best Circulation Promotion
Judges liked the newspaper’s Honey of a Deal idea, which offered free, bee-friendly wildflower seeds to new subscribers.
The Sun Advocate’s other awards included:
Best In-house Self Promotion, second place, for “Those Who Answered the Call;”
Best Website, second place;
Best News Coverage, second place;
Best Sports Story, by Sierra Trujillo, second place;
Best Photo Page, Helper Arts & Music Festival by John Serfustini, second place;
Best Feature Photo, “Quintet of Owls” by Rick Sherman, second place;
Best Sports Photo, Sierra Trujillo, second place;
Best Front Page, third place;
Best Sports Page, second place;
Best Community Event, Helper Arts & Music Festival, by John Serfustini;
Best Staff Produced Ad, Kelly Wilkinson, for Serta Ad, second place;
Best Special Section, Energy Guide, third place.
Choosing the entries was no small task. The Sun Advocate publishes twice a week, which means that staff must comb through 104 issues to pick out the best of the bunch.