Category 1 - Best Editorial

First Place - Boone County Recorder, Juli Hale

Very well written. I loved the comparison of the gas tax to the ‘80s. Plus it is a subject that affects everyone, no matter what economic, racial, etc. group they’re in. Great job! I enjoyed reading this.

Second Place - Tompkinsville News, Ronda Jordan-Elam

The only reason I did not rate this as first is because of the length of the copy and that at some point it rambles slightly. But, given the emotional nature of the subject, that is completely understandable. Very tough, emotional subject that I would think really resonated with the community. Good job making it hit “close to home.”

Third Place - Henry County Local, Brooke Melville

Wow! Great editorial on a controversial subject. Your first couple of paragraphs say it all, who would think garbage would be so controversial?! A great take on it, pointing out the positives of a negative situation, that people are now taking an interest in their local government. Good job!

Honorable Mention - Boone County Recorder, Juli Hale

Again, excellent writing. My only comment is, it almost reads like a news story and that’s the reason I didn’t score it higher. But good job! And I can’t believe there was a cross burning in 2004!!!

Honorable Mention - LaRue County Herald News, Linda Ireland

Kudos for having the guts to stand up to your local government and implore them to do their jobs without favoritism.

Category 2 - Best Spot News Coverage

First Place - McCreary County Voice, Greg Bird

A great account of an unusual subject matter!! This story also shows the “human aspect” the caring of the EMS, 911 and other officials as they fed, clothed and cared for these children.

Second Place - Springfield Sun, Becky Blanton

This story is very well written and very descriptive. It has great quotes, as well. It also educates readers on the dangers of rip currents, an important factor since so many people know nothing about them.

Third Place - Providence Journal Enterprise, Gwen Hicox

Good, descriptive writing, good quotes.

Honorable Mention - Berea Citizen, Scott Powell

This story was well-written and to-the-point; however, I felt that it could’ve used more quotes.

Category 3 - Best General News Story

First Place - Henry County Local, Melissa Blankenship

Solid combination of news facts, background information and quotes. Explains what made the school standout without getting bogged down in numbers or resorting to “educator-speak.”

Second Place - Clay City Times, Jeff Kerr

Personalities come through to give life to coverage of an annual event.

Third Place - Spencer Magnet, Joshua Coffman

Balance of information from both sides of issue. Good lead gets reader into story by making it personal before getting into the technicalities.

Honorable Mention - Greenup County News Times, Cathie Shaffer

Good writing, good quotes, good organization, but a one-source news story.

Category 4 - Best Feature Story

First Place - Providence Journal Enterprise, Gwen Hicox

Great writing on this! I really felt as if I knew the subject after reading this article. Great quotes, good information!

Second Place - Citizen Voice & Times, Jeff Kerr

The lead on this story is terrific!! The good writing continues all the way through. Good job!!

Third Place - Greenup County News Times, Cathie Shaffer

The vivid description in the first few paragraphs is what I loved most abut this story. Interesting topic, great writing!

Honorable Mention - LaRue County Herald News, Ron Benningfield

Very touching story, great details and quotes from the family involved. It does ramble a bit...I would tighten it up and then it would be a first-place article!

Honorable Mention - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Great, heartwarming story!!

Category 5 - Best Column

First Place - McCreary County Voice, Greg Bird

His columns were head and shoulders above the others.

Second Place - Boone County Recorder, Chuck Sambuchino

Third Place - Carrollton News Democrat, Karen Claiborne

Category 6 - Best Sports Column

First Place - Springfield Sun, Tom Bystrek

Writer had a unique style that keeps reader attention to the final word. Good variety of topics.

Second Place - Hardin County Independent, Martin Hepner

Good writing on the local athletic scene. Very effective use of quotes and certainly a broad knowledge of local athletic history.

Third Place - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

Writer doesn’t mind taking on the hard issues, especially when it includes young athletes.

Category 7 - Best Sports Story

First Place - Clay City Times, Jeff Kerr

Lead separates it from pile. Effective, brutal, but it draws me in. Nice job.

Second Place - Henry County Local, Melissa Blankenship

Balanced with lots of sources. I thought it was priceless without one bias. Effective.

Third Place - McCreary County Voice, Greg Bird

Well written.

Category 8 - Best Sports Feature Story

First Place - Hardin County Independent, Martin Hepner

Writer puts reader inside for a look out before giving the reader an insightful look into the person and the position. Well done.

Second Place - Clay City Times, Jeff Kerr

Nice job of setting up the intro.

Third Place - LaRue County Herald News, Ron Benningfield

Colorful character, eye-catching copy. I felt like I met the man personally.

Category 9 - Best Enterprise or Analytical Story

First Place - Salyersville Independent, D.L. Davis

Comprehensive coverage. Good use of background material and explanation of the numbers.

Second Place - Henry County Local, Melissa Blankenship

Solid writing. Goes beyond one family’s story to provoke thought in readers’ own insurance situations.

Third Place - Spencer Magnet, John Shindlebower

Concise story with helpful tips sidebar. Good use of numbers without getting wrapped up in them.

Category 10 - Best Investigative Story or Series

First Place - LaRue County Herald News, Linda Ireland

Once an obscure problem, now more seen in smaller communities. Meth labs present challenges most people don’t understand. Ireland clearly explains the problems in her series.

Second Place - McCreary County Voice, Andrew Powell

Taxpayers in McCreary County seem well served by this reporter. The E-911 series answers questions about promised services that people are paying for.

Third Place - Spencer Magnet, John Shindlebower

Exposing a doctor’s improper relationship with a patient in a way that doesn’t read like a tabloid takes skill and sourcing. Good job.

Category 11 - Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story

First Place - Providence Journal Enterprise, Gwen Hicox

A very detailed expose of government gone awry that’s factually and unabashedly told by this assistant news editor. While complex, the writer boldly explores all aspects of this white collar, woeful tale of misuse of taxpayers’ money.

Second Place - Carrollton News Democrat, Phyllis Codling

I empathized, muffled my laughter and like many readers thought the managers of this cemetery might rest more comfortably six-feet under. What an Americana story with factual details. Ms. Codling is a great writer!

Third Place - LaRue County Herald News, Linda Ireland

This was a tremendous accomplishment in revealing the plight of this veteran and professional who almost was mired in red tape until the newspaper editor interceded. I recommend you for caring and communicating his story to the community. Your lead paragraph was perfect.

Honorable Mention - Citizen Voice & Times, Rhonda Smyth

You addressed a compelling issue from beginning to end that is frequently ignored by many newspapers. Your details were explicitly and effectively revealed to this reader. I was impressed with your court and crime-writing skills.

Category 12 - Best Business/Agribusiness Story

First Place - Henry County Local, Brooke Melville

Good lead. Very thorough profile on owner of orchard in county. Good detail.

Second Place - Spencer Magnet, John Shindlebower

Good detail. Very thorough. Writing is solid. Would have won if not written from an event.

Third Place - McCreary County Voice, Andrew Powell

Good research and detail. Very straight forward and thorough.

Category 13 - Best Headline

First Place - Salyersville Independent, D.L. Davis

Funny and on the mark. Just clever without hiding what the story is about. Bravo!

Second Place - Salyersville Independent, David Prater

Gets point across without beating the witness over the readers’ head. It makes sense and it’s just plain good.

Third Place - Salyersville Independent, D.L. Davis

Obviously, this paper is in a class by itself when it comes to headline writing. Another amusing intelligent entry.

Category 14 - Best Spot News Picture

First Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Great spot news images, excellent crop. Peak of action caught!

Second Place - Henry County Local, Brooke Melville

Good enterprise captures how small man is in the face of nature.

Third Place - LaRue County Herald News, Ramona Coffey

Unique event.

Honorable Mention - Carrollton News Democrat, David Mann

Strong clean image. Prominent stack as remnant makes picture.

Category 15 - Best General News Picture

First Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Nice moment.

Second Place - LaRue County Herald News, Ramona Coffey

Touching moment of a broken spirit.

Third Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Nice shot capturing politician generation gap.

Category 16 - Best Feature Picture

First Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Preschool grad in the moment... we loved this one. A clear winner!!

Second Place - Henry County Local, Melissa Blankenship

The seaside walk has an authentic feel to it. The nanny’s body language and expression is wonderful.

Third Place - Greenup County News Times, Mason Branham

Humorous photo of burly kids studying a perched parrot.

Category 17 - Best Picture Essay (Spot, General or Feature)

First Place - Laurel News Journal, Ronica Brandenburg

Animated, amusing pictures.

Second Place - Hardin County Independent, Gerald Lush

Humorous, vivacious depiction of a local festival.

Third Place - Carrollton News Democrat, Phyllis Codling

Humorous and heartwarming photos.

Honorable Mention - Henry County Local, Tommie Kendall

Clean, nice action. Good cropping. Good use of flash fill.

Category 18 - Best Sports Picture

First Place - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

Great reaction. Could have been cropped to a vertical and been stronger.

Second Place - Henry County Local, Tony Morris

Nice job watching the bench. Watch the crop, it could have come in on the left.

Third Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Nice clean image.

Honorable Mention - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Nice clean technical shot.

Category 19 - Best Sports Picture Essay

First Place - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

Nice lead photo and use of small art. It works!

Second Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Good use of main art and overall pleasing look.

Third Place - Providence Journal Enterprise, Charlie Hust

Good lead pix, need to edit the five smaller action pix.

Category 20 - Special Sections

First Place - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

Well designed. Good use of action photos. Lots of useful info graphics. Great effort on articles to tie it all together and set up the event.

Second Place - LaRue County Herald News, Staff

Great concept. Contributed articles give the section authentic “Voice.” Had the emotional connection of a country song. Good use of historical photos.

Third Place - Falmouth Outlook, Staff

Useful and informative guide to this important community event. Articles help present the flavor of the event rather than just a dry presentation of schedules, though that important information is provided as well. Nice size too. Design a little claustrophobic.

Honorable Mention - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

Basketball, football - a multi sport talent! Give Les a raise!!!

Honorable Mention - Spencer Magnet, Staff

Good execution of theme. Good research for lists. Would have liked to have had more articles, photos.

Category 21 - Best Graphic

First Place - Henry County Local, Brooke Melville

Graphic works extremely well with story on state assessment scores. This variation on standard bar graph take information that is dry and gives it enough punch visually to attract readers.

Second Place - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon, Greg Kitzmiller

Very nice concept for highlighting the all-county teams. As a whole, graphic is a dominant force on paper and adds punch to the section.

Third Place - Laurel News Journal, Melissa Newman, Eric Dishon

Nicely conceived photo illustration plays well with story, which deals with the topic of mental illness. Emotional edge of photo complements editorial content, adding to total package.

Category 22 - Best Sports Page/Section

First Place - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

You go!! What an awesome writer and photographer. Words cannot describe how your dynamic style makes these athletes leap off the pages!!!!

Second Place - Providence Journal Enterprise, Charlie Hust

I enjoyed your stories and the merging of all cultures into the world of sports. Your leads are to the point, and your writing shows the excitement of the game.

Third Place - Olive Hill Times, Denver Brown

Honorable Mention - Laurel News Journal, Les Dixon

To be fair, I chose this writer again because the sections submitted deserved accolades again. Oops, it may be redundant, but readers will never get bored with your writing.

Category 23 - Best Business/Agribusiness Page

First Place - LaRue County Herald News, Staff

Great looking pages! They’re clean, well-designed, include good art and cover a variety of business/agribusiness news. Very informative and well-written!

Category 24 - Best Lifestyle Page

First Place - Berea Citizen, Staff

Well laid-out. Great photography. Excellent mix of photos, content, features and personal items. Overall, best in class for variety and interest, by far. Even though others had color and this was black and white, still better in quality!!

Second Place - Laurel News Journal, Ronica Brandenburg

Nice variety of photos and layout of pages. Very eye-catching and interesting. Missing variety of stories, which would make for a better section.

Third Place - Spencer Magnet, Robin Bass

Nice variety of photos and layout of pages. Very eye-catching and interesting. Missing variety of stories, which would make for a better section.

Category 25 - Best Editorial Page

First Place - Laurel News Journal, Dean Manning

Lots of letters to editor and at least one well-written editorial on local news subject. Also really like Steve Kickout’s column. Visually appealing.

Second Place - Citizen Voice & Times, Jeff Kerr

Nice layout. Local emphasis.

Third Place - Berea Citizen, Staff

Category 26 - Best Front Page

First Place - Spencer Magnet, John Shindlebower

Excellent pictures, wide variety of story and colorful writing makes this paper’s front page on top of all others. Good mixture of breaking news with community fluff.

Second Place - McCreary County Voice, Staff

Decent pictures, good story content. Well rounded front should appeal to variety of audience.

Third Place - Citizen Voice & Times, Jeff Kerr

Good stories and pictures.

© Kentucky Press Association