In a competition among hundreds of newspapers from across the country, winning even just a handful of awards feels special.
For the 2018 production year, the News claimed 24 total awards from the National Newspaper Association's 'Better Newspaper Contest' competition, including six first place finishes and a second in 'General Excellence.'
General Excellence is a committee-based analysis of individual newspapers' full offering, including style; writing; pictures; layout; opinion; public notices; advertising; and overall flow of the product selected for judgement.
Graphics artist Paul Hatton continues to be a hit on the national circuit, earning two first places for advertisement design.
Photographer Morgan Prewitt garnered a first place for her photographs of the Livingston Parish Fair, and swept the 'Feature Photo' category.
The sports team of editor William Weathers and Rob DeArmond placed first in overall sports coverage, while editor David Gray and writer Jamie Webb claimed a first in overall lifestyle coverage.
DeArmond also claimed a first place for his story on Albany coach Bobby Olah's 'Hall of Fame' induction.
The overall winners were (in no particular order):
The News is in a category with roughly 65 other newspapers.
