The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette won the award for general excellence among the state's larger newspapers at the Arkansas Press Association's annual convention Saturday in Eureka Springs.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette placed second in the category, which is decided on a point system for each first-, second- and third-place honor in 29 other categories.
The Fayetteville-based Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette received 11 first-place honors from judges in the annual journalism competition for work produced in 2017. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, based in Little Rock, took nine first-place awards. Both papers are owned by WEHCO Media Inc.
Reporters Hunter Field and Amanda Claire Curcio and online editors Gavin Lesnick and Jillian Kremer of the Little Rock paper won first place in investigative reporting for "Deadly Force," a series that examined police shootings statewide over a six-year period. All daily newspapers, large and small, competed in the category.
The I.F. Stone Award, which recognizes extraordinary investigative reporting, went to the first-place winner among weekly newspapers, the Spring River Chronicle in Hardy, and reporters Tammy Curtis and Dawana Goings Pigue for their investigation of problems in the city administration and police force.
Members of the Louisiana Press Association judged this year's APA competition, which drew 1,508 entries from 41 newspapers.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's reporting on a shooting at a downtown Little Rock nightclub that injured more than two dozen people won first place among larger newspapers for best news story. Reporters Scott Carroll, Aziza Musa, Eric Besson and Field were credited with covering the shooting, which occurred on a Saturday night, when newspapers are staffed by a skeleton crew of no more than one or two reporters.
The paper's Lisa Hammersly and Frank Fellone won first place for in-depth series reporting for "Dead Asleep," a package of articles about sleep deaths of infants.
Bob Holt won first place in the sports news story category for "Ground-breaking Hog," a story about a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville track-and-field athlete who runs on prosthetic legs. Holt also won the sports feature category for his story about the 2001 Arkansas football team's victory over the University of Mississippi in Oxford that set a record of seven overtime periods.
Freelancer Jerry Butler won first place in the freelance writing category for a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about a tunnel under Hot Springs.
News editor Sandra Tyler won the headline writing category for "Ten Commandments broken," an article about a man who demolished a recently installed monument on the state Capitol grounds by crashing his car into it.
Photographer Benjamin Krain's photo essay "Off and running" won first place in that category.
John Deering won the best editorial cartoonist category, in which all daily and weekly newspapers were judged.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette won first place for best feature story, sports column, general interest column, humorous column, single sports action photograph, single sports feature photograph, graphic design portfolio, best website, coverage of education, coverage of tourism and coverage of health and medical issues.
Two other WEHCO newspapers, The Sentinel-Record of Hot Springs and the Texarkana Gazette, were honored with first-place awards. The Hot Springs paper placed first in two categories, editorials and best single news photograph. The Texarkana paper won for best sports page.
Following is the list of first-place winners in each category and division.
News Story
Smaller Dailies: The Daily Citizen, Searcy Tracy Whitaker, "We're still just in the dark." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Scott Carroll, Aziza Musa, Eric Besson and Hunter Field, Lounge shooting. Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Jeremy Peppas, John Lyon and Dale Ellis, Death penalty coverage. Medium Weeklies: Nashville News-Leader, Terrica Hendrix, Blevins superintendent resigns. Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville John Hofheimer, "School board discord leads to an apology."
Feature Story
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Lacy Mitchell, "Remembering Millie." Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Laurinda Joenks, "Parents left behind." Smaller Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis, "And they never came home." Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News Midweek, Berryville, Kelby Newcomb, "New Life Challenge aids hopeless, homeless." Larger Weeklies: Lovely County Citizen, Eureka Springs, Samantha Jones, "St. James Episcopal Church hosts Sunday Night Suppers."
In-Depth Series Reporting
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Angelia Roberts, "The faces of marijuana." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Lisa Hammersley and Frank Fellone, "Dead Asleep." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little, Rock Dale Ellis, "Unmasked." Medium Weeklies: The Times Dispatch, Walnut Ridge, Megan Heyl, "Consolidation." Larger Weeklies: "The Leader," Jacksonville, Christy Hendricks, Opioid series.
Investigative Reporting
All Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Hunter Field, Amanda Claire Curcio, Gavin Lesnick and Jillian Kremer, "Deadly Force." All Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis and Dawana Goings Pigue, Hardy fiasco (I.F. Stone Award).
Beat Reporting
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Angelia Roberts. Larger Dailies: Times Record, Fort Smith, John Lovett, History. Smaller Weeklies: Wynne Progress, David Owens, Downtown. Medium Weeklies: Nashville News-Leader, John R. Schirmer, Education. Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Deborah Horn, Election Commission.
Sports News Story
Smaller Dailies: Paragould Daily Press, Cole Turbeville, "Crail impacted lives." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Bob Holt, "Ground-breaking Hog." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Jeremy Peppas, "Ring 'em up." Medium Weeklies: Nashville News-Leader, John R. Schirmer, "Scrappers win class 4A title." Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Graham Thomas, "Again! And again!"
Sports Feature Story
Smaller Dailies: Saline Courier, Benton, Tony Lenahan, "All in the family: Benton seniors propel Panthers." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Bob Holt, "Oxford Odyssey." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Donna Lampkin Stephens, "Throwing Thurow." Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News Midweek, Berryville, Ty Loftis, "Berryville golfers staying busy." Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Ray Benton, "Guy you want in your program."
Sports Column
Smaller Dailies: Paragould Daily Press, Cole Turbeville, "Morris brings offense." Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Rick Fires, "Comments heap unneeded pressure on recruits." Smaller Weeklies: Wynne Progress, Mason Addison, "Local athletes get less state media attention." Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News Midweek, Berryville, Scott Loftis, "Rekindling Hog fever." Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Ray Benton, "NCAA makes a mockery of collegiate amateurism."
Editorial
Smaller Dailies: The Daily Citizen, Searcy, Steve Watts, "Failed suicide success story." Larger Dailies: The Sentinel-Record, Hot Springs, Mark Gregory, "A safe community is our responsibility." Smaller Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis, "Let's find the good again." Medium Weeklies: McGehee-Dermott Times-News, Rachel Freeze, "From the Editor's Desk: Again?" Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Jonathan Feldman, "Reforming probation."
News/Political Column
Smaller Dailies: The Daily Citizen, Searcy, Steve Watts, "Execution stays unjust, inevitable." Larger Dailies: Jonesboro Sun, Chris Wessel, "When in doubt, check it out." Smaller Weeklies: Washington County Enterprise Leader, Lincoln, Maylon Rice, "Comments wrong on split in execution stay." Medium Weeklies: McGehee-Dermott Times-News, Rachel Freeze, "From the Editor's Desk: Really?" Larger Weeklies: Madison County Record, Huntsville, Preston Tolliver, "Downtown growth vital to city's survival."
General Interest Column
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Lacy Mitchell, "The last." Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Lisa Kelley, "Tuesdays with Art." Smaller Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis, "Tom boy memories." Medium Weeklies: Nashville News-Leader, Louie Graves, "Bluebird of hope." Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Garrick Feldman, "Holocaust survivor's final journey."
Public Notice
All Newspapers: The Daily Citizen, Searcy, Tracy Whitaker, "Raw milk sold illegally."
Humorous Column
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Angelia Roberts, "Fix-up, makeup dilemmas." Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Greg Harton, "Just a bill." Smaller Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis, "I don't fight it as hard." Medium Weeklies: McGehee-Dermott Times-News, Rachel Freeze, "Odd ball out." Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Devin Houston, "Fun with online computer repair."
Freelance Writing
Smaller Dailies: Pine Bluff Commercial, Shakari Briggs, "Mall struggles, retail frenzy." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Jerry Butler, "Hot Springs underground." Small and Medium Weeklies: Press Argus-Courier, Van Buren, Brittany Ransom, "JROTC program makes impact." Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Mike Polston, "Historian recalls lynchings."
Headline Writing
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Angelia Roberts, "Captain, lieutenant game for retirement." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Sandra Tyler, "Ten Commandments Broken." Smaller Weeklies: Washington County Enterprise Leader, Lincoln, Lynn Kutter, "A river runs through it." Medium Weeklies: Sheridan Headlight, Millie McClain, "Splash pad a soaking success." Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Eric Burney, "Fifth-grader's doodle a dandy with Google."
Single News Photograph
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Kris Caraway, "Every 15 minutes." Larger Dailies: The Sentinel-Record, Hot Springs, Richard Rasmussen, "Fleeing suspect." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Dale Ellis, "Flying high." Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News Midweek, Berryville, Tavi Ellis, "Highway 21 accident." Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Michael Burchfiel, "Heavy rainfall causes area flooding."
Single Feature Photograph
Smaller Dailies: Saline Courier, Benton, Greg Davis, "And the thunder rolls." Larger Dailies: Jonesboro Sun, Staci Vandagriff, "Skating in the sun." Smaller Weeklies: Press Argus-Courier, Van Buren, Kenneth Fry, "Finishing touches." Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News Midweek, Berryville, David Bell, "Eclipse party" APA Photo of the Year. Larger Weeklies: Lovely County Citizen, Eureka Springs, Tavi Ellis, "Full moon paddle board."
Single Sports Action Photograph
Smaller Dailies: Saline Courier, Benton, Greg Davis, "Home sweet home." Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Jason Ivester, "Gut check." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Jaison Sterling, "North Little Rock's Colin Moore." Medium Weeklies: McGehee-Dermott Times-News, Rhonda Bolling, "McGehee Owl #7 Moo Haynes intercepts." Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Graham Thomas, "59th annual Siloam Springs Rodeo."
Single Sports Feature Photograph
Smaller Dailies: Saline Courier, Benton, Greg Davis, "FAIR BOARD: Thanks for perfect midway week." Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Andy Shupe, "A dip in the drink." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Jaison Sterling, "Kicking queen." Medium Weeklies: Nashville News-Leader, John R. Schirmer, "Trophy presentation." Larger Weeklies: Stone County Leader, Mountain View, Lori Freeze, "T-Ball Postgame."
Picture Page/Photo Essay
Smaller Dailies: Saline Courier, Benton, Josh Briggs and Sarah Perry, "Beauty and the Beast." Larger Dailies: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Ben Krain, "Off and running." Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock, Jaison and Callie Sterling, "DC trip." Medium Weeklies: Nashville News-Leader, Louie Graves and John R. Schirmer, "Patriotic celebration." Larger Weeklies: Madison County Record, Huntsville, Preston Tolliver, "Paws and claws color me fun run."
Best Front Page
Smaller Dailies: The Daily Citizen, Searcy, Steve Watts and Wendy Jones. Larger Dailies: Jonesboro Sun, Jonesboro Sun Staff. Smaller Weeklies: Washington County Enterprise Leader, Lincoln, Monica Hooper. Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News Midweek, Berryville, Melody Rust and Scott Loftis. Larger Weeklies: The Daily Record, Little Rock, Bobby Burton.
Best Graphic Design Portfolio
All Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Chris Swindle. Smaller Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis. Medium Weeklies: Sheridan Headlight, Millie McClain. Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Christy Hendricks.
Best Sports Page
Smaller Dailies: Harrison Daily Times, Candice Brasel. Larger Dailies: Texarkana Gazette, Texarkana Gazette Staff. Smaller Weeklies: Spring River Chronicle, Hardy, Tammy Curtis. Medium Weeklies: Advance Monticellonian, Monticello, Harold Coggins. Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Graham Thomas and Eric Burney.
Best Website
Smaller Dailies: Pine Bluff Commercial, John Worthen, pbcommercial.com. Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Online Staff, nwadg.com. All Weeklies: Press Argus-Courier, Van Buren, George Clay Mitchell and Jenny McClure, pressargus.com.
Best Editorial Cartoonist
All Newspapers: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, John Deering.
Coverage of Business/Agriculture
Smaller Dailies: Paragould Daily Press, Gary Exelby and Cole Turbeville. Larger Dailies: Jonesboro Sun, Jonesboro Sun Staff. Smaller Weeklies: Washington County Enterprise Leader, Lincoln, Lynn Kutter. Medium Weeklies: Advance Monticellonian, Monticello, Harold Coggins. Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Jonathan Feldman, John Hofheimer and Deborah Horn.
Coverage of Education
Smaller Dailies: Paragould Daily Press, Gary Exelby, Cole Turbeville and Steve Gillespie. Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Dave Perozek and Brenda Bernet. Small and Medium Weeklies: Advance Monticellonian, Monticello, Ashley Foreman and Harold Coggins. Larger Weeklies: Herald-Leader, Siloam Springs, Janelle Jessen.
Coverage of Tourism
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Batesville Daily Guard Staff. Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Stacy Ryburn and Melissa Gute. Smaller Weeklies: Press Argus-Courier, Van Buren, Kenneth Fry and Taniah Tudor. Medium Weeklies: McGehee-Dermott Times-News, Rachel Freeze. Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville, Leader Staff.
Coverage of Health/Medical
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard, Angelia Roberts, Andrea Bruner and Lacy Mitchell. Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville, Dan Holtmeyer and Doug Thompson. Smaller Weeklies: Washington County Enterprise Leader, Lincoln, Lynn Kutter. Medium Weeklies: Sheridan Headlight, Tanner Newton and Byron Tate. Larger Weeklies: Madison County Record, Huntsville, Madison County Record Staff.
General Excellence
Smaller Dailies: Batesville Daily Guard. Larger Dailies: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville. Smaller Weeklies: The Times, North Little Rock. Medium Weeklies: Carroll County News, Berryville. Larger Weeklies: The Leader, Jacksonville.
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