First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Jenna Smith
Extremely well done by a student intern on a most important subject. Well-written, perceptive observations and, just correct.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Brian Taylor
Well written, perceptice account of family with young child split by Iraq war, but from the father’s viewpoint as the parent left at home.
Third Place - Sunday Challenger, Michael Jennings
Well argued and written challenge for city leaders to overcome biases and approve men’s recovery center.
Category 2 - Best Spot News Coverage
First Place - Sunday Challenger, Jeanne Houck
Only three contestants. Well done account of triple-murder. Could have been more informative about two high school students shot.
Second Place - Florence Recorder, Lindsay Kottman
Brief but concise story about marine deserter arrested after 31 years. Good conclusion about deserters in modern war.
Category 3 - Best General News Story
First Place - Sunday Challenger, Michael Jennings
Captivating story. Great descriptions. Good use of quotes. Additional sources given to the story. Overall, a very interesing, well-written article.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Michelle Gordon
Great feeling and descriptions in this story. Thoughts to remember.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Kim Williams
This is a great story, well-written about a community’s love and support of one of its own.
Category 4 - Best Feature Story
First Place - Sunday Challenger, Sarah Eichenberger
You painted a picture of an unconventional, brass individual and made him appealing. The first few paragraphs drew me in and made me read more.
Second Place - Chevy Chaser Magazine, Brian Jewell, Drew Purcell
It was the opener that did it. Descriptive; even without the pictures I would have seen it. Well used and well placed quotes as well.
Third Place - Inside the Turret, C.J. Gregory
Good story about good men. To have made the opener flow better leave out unnecessary words; it can bog your lead down and make it more succinct.
Category 5 - Best Column
First Place - Kenton Community Recorder, Amanda Van Benschoten
Strong voice and elegant, reasoning sent this one to the top of a competitive category.
Second Place - Kentucky Monthly, Bill Ellis
Easy-to-read and filled with information. Enjoyable columns that gave reader something to think about.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Vicki Johnson
Your voice is as strong as your advice. I’m sure this is a popular column.
Category 6 - Best Sports Column
Certificate of Merit - Inside the Turret, William Wilczewski
Category 7 - Best Sports Story
First Place - Inside the Turret, William Wilczewski
No pun intended, but it was a most heart-warming story. By far the top story of those entered. Can’t help but think it should have been a sports feature, however.
Second Place - Sunday Challenger, Vicki Prichard, Trina Kinstler
Good hard news story on an ongoing controversy.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Patti Marquess
Good recap of big game with strong lead photo and use of pull-out quotes. Action picture could have been stronger.
Category 8 - Best Sports Feature Story
First Place - Kentucky Monthly, Tom Stephens
Great story sharing a piece of importance in American history.
Second Place - Inside the Turret, William Wilczewski
It would imagine most boys her age would be intimidated to ask her for a date. Great lead.
Third Place - Sunday Challenger, Jeff Fichner
I guess that unknown running back made a name for himself and the writer does a good job of telling how he did it.
Category 9 - Best Enterprise or Analytical Story
First Place - Sunday Challenger, Vicki Prichard
Great opening, draws reader right into the story, good detailed story, good use of sidebars.
Second Place - Sunday Challenger, Howard McEwen
Another great lead, pulls reader right in. Good detailed history of the airport.
Third Place - Kenton Community Recorder, Amanda Van Benschoten
Good details.
Category 10 - Best Investigative Story or Series
First Place - Sunday Challenger, Jeff Fichner
Good, investigative coverage of a controversial issue. Disagreeing voices were heard clearly.
Second Place - Kenton Community Recorder, Amanda Van Benschoten
Good multi-faceted coverage of issue.
Third Place - Sunday Challenger, Michael Jennings, Vicki Prichard, Trina Kinstler, Jeff Fichner
Excellent research and detail. Amount of material was overwhelming and seemed repetitive in spots.
Category 11 - Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story
First Place - Sunday Challenger, Jason Feldmann, Michael Jennings, Vicki Prichard, Lew Moores
The leads of these articles were generally short and simple, often using people to draw the reader into the rest of the story. Paragraphs are generally concisely and simply written, with smooth transitions.
Second Place - Sunday Challenger, Michael Jennings, Vicki Prichard
Leading paragraphs present conflicts in easy-to-follow manner. Articles clearly written for easy understanding.
Third Place - Sunday Challenger, Staff
Articles on horse racetrack industry, are informative. Good wrap-up paragraphs.
Category 12 - Best Business/Agribusiness Story
First Place - Chevy Chaser Magazine, Kristin Ingwell Goode, Chris Rosenthal
Good opening, story covers many facets of the Mennonite community. Great detail.
Second Place - Kentucky Monthly, Judy Marchman
Good, detailed story. Lots of information.
Third Place - Chevy Chaser Magazine, Kristin Ingwell Goode, Robbie Clark
Interesting story of a family business and how it’s developed over time.
Category 13 - Best Headline
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
Second Place - Sunday Challenger, Tricia Suit
Third Place - Medical Leader, Sheldon Compton
Category 14 - Best Spot News Picture
No Entries -
Category 15 - Best General News Picture
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Frank Capri
Best moment of the bunch.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Kim Williams
Good moment, but could use more emotion.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
Shows what soldiers must go through.
Category 16 - Best Feature Picture
First Place - Florence Recorder, Lindsay Kottman
The only moment in the bunch. Nice light and feeling on her face.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Brian Taylor
Very good concept illustration. Before we saw this was an illustration, we wondered if it was a counseling technique.
Third Place - Chevy Chaser Magazine, Robbie Clark
Not always best to shoot back-sides, but still a nice nostalgic photo.
Category 17 - Best Picture Essay (Spot, General or Feature)
First Place - Inside the Turret, Rachael Tolliver
This was the best overall package. Good use of lensing. Just needs a moment or more human emotion.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Kelli Bland
We liked the expression of the man in dominant photo. Good lede.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Jenna Smith
Best photo, the lede in all three top spots, but the package wasn’t as good as the others.
Category 18 - Best Sports Picture
First Place - Inside the Turret, William Wilczewski
We liked that the photo shows break-away in the background (a wide view).
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Patti Marquess
Good action.
Third Place - Kenton Community Recorder, James Weber
This photo could be better if the photographer shot lower and cleaned up background. This was a toss up to fourth, but this one placed third because of challenge of focusing with on-coming object.
Category 19 - Best Sports Picture Essay
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Patti Marquess
Nice moment in lede. Best of all.
Second Place - Inside the Turret, William Wilczewski
Good overall package.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Patti Marquess
Not big on the cut-out of the photo, but probably not photographer’s fault.
Category 20 - Special Sections
First Place - Chevy Chaser Magazine, Staff
Civics lessons is a clear winner with strong writing about civic jobs we sometimes take for granted.
Second Place - Chevy Chaser Magazine, Staff
Notable neighbors puts everyday people in the limelight with all the good things they do.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Kelli Bland, Brian Taylor
“Reintegration” gives a breadth of topics for soldiers to lean upon after coming back from the war.
Category 21 - Best Graphic
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
Great photo illustration that gets readers’ attention.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
Very clever use of graphic in a sky box.
Third Place - Sunday Challenger, Dan Ackley
Graphic added a lot to this story.
Honorable Mention - Ft. Campbell Courier, Braden Kettle
Category 22 - Best Sports Page/Section
First Place - Inside the Turret, William Wilczewski
Strong columns and in-depth coverage make this a strong winner.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
Another really good entry. Photos and stories played well.
Category 23 - Best Business/Agribusiness Page
No Entries -
Category 24 - Best Lifestyle Page
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Brian Taylor
Outstanding and fun graphics on these pages. Draws the reader in.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Braden Kettle
Strong packaging here. Nicely done!
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Katie Wright
Real clean layout. Not sure if I would use the courier-style first letter on the stories, different font would be better.
Category 25 - Best Editorial Page
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
A real strong editorial page. Something for everyone. I like the mix.
Second Place - Inside the Turret, Staff
Informative columns and letters make this a real good page.
Third Place - Sunday Challenger, Dan Ackley
This page has it all, but a local columnist. That would be a huge plus.
Category 26 - Best Front Page
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Brian Taylor
Lead photo caught the reader’s eye quickly. The text under the photo fit well. Page was laid out nicely without any clutter.
Second Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Brian Taylor
Clean look to page. Good use of lead photo.
Third Place - Ft. Campbell Courier, Thomas Hare
Good use of info boxes. Uniform look with equal use of columns. Lots of photo art to break up gray.
Category 27 - Best Newspaper Website
First Place - Ft. Campbell Courier
A good idea, smartly executed. Relevant info, well organized and presented in an attractive manner for its audience. Designed for readers! The ability to change type size with a click is a nice courtesy. Site has a pleasing “personality” that comes through in design, tone, use of photos. Just one quibble - calendar is empty!
© Kentucky Press Association