Lagniappe took home 19 overall awards in the Alabama Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, with nine entries coming in first place, seven winning second place and three taking third place in Division C, which includes the state’s larger weekly newspapers.
Lynn Oldshue’s story “Oaklawn Cemetery is Mobile’s forgotten burial ground” took first place for Best News Feature Coverage. Her series on the cemetery also spurred community efforts to clean up Oaklawn.
Lagniappe co-publisher Ashley Trice’s “Hidden Agenda” column was judged Best Humorous Column, an award she also won in 2018.
Best Local Sports Column for Division C went to Randy Kennedy for “Learning from listening to smart sports figures,” and Lagniappe Sports Editor Tommy Hicks took second place in that category for “CFP once again proves it’s not open to all.”
Lagniappe also took first place in the Best Photo Essay category for our coverage of Hurricane Sally. And Lagniappe was awarded first place for Best Production and Printing.
Other awards in the editorial categories included second place for Best Local Economic Coverage, which went to the staff; third place for Best Layout and Design; second place for Best Editorial Column or Commentary for Rob Holbert’s “Damn the Torpedoes” column; and third place for Best News Photo for “Approaching the Peak” by Shane Rice. Lagniappe’s graphic designer, Laura Mattei, took second place for Best Use of Graphics or Illustrations for her “COVID-19” cover, and Gabriel Tynes was awarded second place for Creative Use of Multimedia for “Percentages of Black Students in Mobile County Public Schools 1972-2020.”
In the advertising categories, Lagniappe took first place in Best Single Ad Half Page and Under, Black and White, Best Single Ad Half Page and Over, Black and White, Best Advertising Campaign, and Best Use of Humor. Lagniappe also was awarded second place for Best Use of Humor, as well as Best Presentation of Online Advertising.
Several major categories remain to be awarded, including the FOI – First Amendment Award, General Excellence and Story of the Year. Those awards will be announced at the APA Summer Convention and Banquet in Orange Beach in June. The APA awards attracted 495 entries from 23 different publications across Alabama, which were judged by the South Carolina Press Association membership.
Other local newspapers recognized in the APA Awards included the Citronelle Call News, which took 13 awards in Division C for both advertising and editorial content.
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