Category 1 - Best Editorial
First Place
News Democrat - Phyllis Codling
Writer marshalled the facts to support a clear and persuasive opinion.
Second Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
It is difficult to convince the public to pay up, but this writer made a sound argument to do so.
Third Place
Interior Journal - Staff
An excellent job of poking holes in an all-too-favorite political toadie. Would have ranked higher if subject had been local.
Category 2 - Best Spot News Coverage
First Place
Greenup County News Times - Cathie Shaffer
The lede tells it all; supporting graphics well organized.
Second Place
Interior Journal - Ashley Hooker
The story of this tragedy is handled in an effective, well-written manner.
Third Place
Cadiz Record - Hawkins Teague
An effective narrative of a mixture of tragedy and heroism.
Category 3 - Best General News Story
First Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
This is a story sure to have the commuity talking for days. Nice job handling an elusive topic!
Second Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Ms. Jacewicz balances both sides of a sensitive issue beautifully. This piece finds a good formula of sensationalism and common sense.
Third Place
McCreary County Voice - Andrew Powell
Terrific initiative, turning typical fund-raising story into a tongue-in-cheek piece sure to entertain readers and sources alike.
Category 4 - Best Feature Story
First Place
Bourbon County Citizen - Jimmy Brannon
A story of courage heroically shared. Mr. Brannon turned his life and his son's struggle into an inspiration - no simple task for any of us accstomed to telling stories from the other side of the newspaper.
Second Place
LaRue County Herald News - Linda Ireland
Tremendous job seeing, capturing and sharing Homer's infectious spirit and no-nonsense approach to farming.
Third Place
McCreary County Voice - Greg Bird
Well done.
Category 5 - Best Column
First Place
Spencer Magnet - John Shindlebower
These columns are more proof of what we all know deep down - there are amazing stories around every corner and inside each neighbor in a small town. Nice job of sharing them!!
Second Place
Bourbon County Citizen - Kevin Garrison
Intelligent commentary sure to get laughs and raise a little ire. Good work.
Third Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Great examples of turning everyday situations into life lessons.
Category 6 - Best Sports Column
First Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
Enjoyable columns.
Category 7 - Best Sports Story
First Place
McCreary County Voice - Greg Bird
Snappy lede; well written account of final game.
Second Place
Henry County Local - Jonna Spelbring Priester
A very close second; great lede; well organized story.
Third Place
Interior Journal - Nancy Leedy
This writer makes a girls high school golf story interesting and a smooth read even for non-golfers.
Category 8 - Best Sports Feature Story
First Place
Interior Journal - Nancy Leedy
Nice work. Would have enjoyed a little more depth, but it was good enough to win.
Second Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
Well written/ Emotional, yet it still tells a good story.
Third Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
Good profile, in-depth. You can tell Tommie worked at it.
Category 9 - Best Enterprise or Analytical Story
First Place
McCreary County Voice - Andrew Powell
Clarifies delinquent property tax issues.
Second Place
Interior Journal - George Lewis
Good job of calling attention to proper use of auto restraints.
Third Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
Good analysis of problems from gasoline price increas.
Category 10 - Best Investigative Story or Series
First Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
Great background, good presentation. Definitely the best entry in this category. Moreland did his homework.
Second Place
Berea Citizen - Anna Homa, Scott Powell
Interesting, detailed piece on a topic most people just overlook - but shouldn't. Good info for the public to have. Good journalism!
Third Place
Interior Journal - George Lewis
If this story was a little harder hitting it could have been the winner. It's interesting but lacked a few components from being the best.
Category 11 - Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story
First Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
A wonderful job telling a story that had to be the talk of the town. Good photos made the package complete.
Second Place
News Democrat - Phyllis Codling
Well-written and easy to read on a tough subject to make understandable.
Third Place
Spencer Magnet - John Shindlebower
Well done from the government side. Would have benefited from more reaction from those affected.
Category 12 - Best Business/Agribusiness Story
First Place
Spencer Magnet - Amanda Hensley
Gave this story the top place for a good headline, good lead, good art, photo support and good writing. An easy read and easy first place pick.
Second Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
Well written piece, covers the subject, great headline to grab the reader. An excellent job of writing/coverage of a high impact story.
Third Place
Berea Citizen - Scott Powell
Nice treatment of an end of an era business losing out to a foreign competitor. Excellent personal approach. Nice work!
Category 13 - Best Headline
First Place
McCreary County Voice - Greg Bird
An easy pick for first place. This one is a classic. Give Bird some credit for some quick thinking!
Second Place
News Democrat - Phyllis Codling
Good creative effort on Codling's part. Great fit for the story on genealogy.
Third Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
I had to love this one. Great tie-in with the score and weather conditions. Nice effort.
Category 14 - Best Spot News Picture
First Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
The real story of this fatal fire is captured in this photo of the victim's brother.
Second Place
Interior Journal - George Lewis
Photos tell a story no words could.
Third Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
Another fire photo, but one of unusual drama. Excellent composition.
Category 15 - Best General News Picture
First Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
Great shot of exuberance of youth. Good composition.
Second Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Excellent composition as peak moment captured.
Third Place
McCreary County Voice - Andrew Powell
Only a timely photo could tell adequately this story of a principal being slimed.
Category 16 - Best Feature Picture
First Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
Here's an example of taking an ordinary scene and with a great dose of imagination, great angle, excellent cropping and your framing in coming up with a top-notch photo. Great eye grabber!
Second Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Good thought process to select this low angle shot along with a perfect timed shot to create an excellent photo. Nice job.
Third Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
Another creative shot by Bass. Nice attention grabbing shot that should appeal to the reader.
Category 17 - Best Picture Essay (Spot, General or Feature)
First Place
LaRue County Herald News - Linda Ireland
Outstanding picture feature with large dominant photos, great reproduction, excellent composition. Just an all-around great effort. Easy to pick for number one.
Second Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
Dominant photo draws attention to great feature as Moreland has captured band's victory with nice shots, good framing to tell the story. Good quality work.
Third Place
Interior Journal - George Lewis
The best spot coverage with photos that tell a clear story.Nice job of capturing the intensity of the events with the firemen photo. A good effort.
Category 18 - Best Sports Picture
First Place
Henry County Local - Jonna Spelbring Priester
What a shot, excellent quality, great framing, clear detailed stop action. A clear choice for number one.Great work!!
Second Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
Nice close up with fine detail and capturing the facial expression. Nice work with clear appeal to the reader.
Third Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
This photo beat out several for third place that were very close. Picked this one because it captures the “slosh” of the game conditions along with a good action photo. Good job!
Category 19 - Best Sports Picture Essay
First Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Strong lead photo, played well.
Second Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
Third Place
Interior Journal - Nancy Leedy
Good variety of photos, nice layout.
Category 20 - Special Sections
First Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
Nice, clean layout. Great photos. Great color. Interesting stories.
Second Place
McCreary County Voice - Staff
Great stories. Layout works well together, but a bit cluttered. Front cover, very attention getting.
Third Place
Falmouth Outlook - Staff
Good stories. Neatly placed layout. Good photos.
Category 21 - Best Graphic
First Place
Berea Citizen - Scott Powell
Good combination of illustration and graphic to convey statistical information.
Second Place
Berea Citizen - Tanya Stewart
Nice pen and ink drawing.
Third Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Readable and colorful, but the paint rollers confused me.
Category 22 - Best Sports Page/Section
First Place
Bourbon County Citizen - Ivan K. Rice
Opening graphic is attention getting. Well written stories. Good overall layout.
Second Place
Henry County Local - Tommie Kendall
Clean look. Good photos. Easy to read.
Third Place
Springfield Sun - Staff
Good photos enhance the stories. Good layout.
Category 23 - Best Business/Agribusiness Page
First Place
McCreary County Voice - Staff
Good photos. Clean layout.
Second Place
Henry County Local - Jonna Spelbring Priester
Good photos. Good stories. Layout a bit cluttered.
Third Place
LaRue County Herald News - Linda Ireland
Good stories. Good photos.
Category 24 - Best Lifestyle Page
First Place
Berea Citizen - Scott Powell
Liked the “World Pieces” package and the recipes in the corner. Also the quote.
Second Place
Citizen Voice & Times - Tish King
Liked the recipes and it's nice to have two local columnists.
Third Place
McCreary County Voice - Staff
Category 25 - Best Editorial Page
First Place
Henry County Local - Kathryn Jacewicz
Clean look and layout. Good stories
Second Place
Berea Citizen - Staff
An inventive local graphic. OK layout.
Third Place
Citizen Voice & Times - Rhonda Smyth
Interesting local stories. Layout could be better.
Category 26 - Best Front Page
First Place
Henry County Local - Jonna Spelbring Priester
Good layout. Interesting stories. Inviting!
Second Place
Springfield Sun - Jeff Moreland
Good layout. Great color.
Third Place
Spencer Magnet - Robin Bass
Interesting layout. Good color. Clean look.
Category 27 - Best Newspaper Website
First Place
News Democrat -
I found the site to be clean and laid out well, however I had to hunt a little for the photo gallery. Consider puting it “above the fold” at the average display. More could be done to incorporate local display ads.
Second Place
McCreary County Voice -
Site appeared to be down one day. Layout could be tighter and could take advantage of more ads. No reason to have to hunt for the photo of the week below the fold.
© Kentucky Press AssociationThird Place
Interior Journal -
Put navigation at the side or the top, not both. Design is clean, overall, but would benefit from being a little tighter. Top navigation, mast head and banner ad take up fully half the screen on my laptop. Page did not load on 11/8.