GENERAL EXCELLENCE

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Division 1
Dailies 5,865 Circulation and Above

1. The Lufkin Daily News

“Exhaustive coverage of local events, coupled with a readers’ focus on international events. The paper also boasts an impressive lineup of feature events and special functions, ranging far beyond Lufkin. I don’t know how big Lufkin is, but it is clear that the paper provides a valuable service to its readers. Excellent writing, clean design.”

2. The Daily Sentinel (Nacogdoches)

“Good mix of local and national news on the front page. ‘The Drilling Fields’ was a strong local story. The story on the Living section cover was a good idea and a good read. Strong follow-up stories on Hurricane Rita. ‘The best of Nacogdoches’ section provides useful, relevant and interesting information for residents, college students and visitors.”

3. Texarkana Gazette

“Strong coverage of train derailment — good pics, stories and headline. More pics needed on sports page below the fold — it’s too gray. Good feature section — loved the ‘Books and Authors’ page. Good Main Street package. Two leads on stories below the fold needed editing. Strong sports section, Interesting features.”

4. The Paris News

“Numerous articles with different themes were covered. Photos were good. Paper reads well and is easy to follow. Two pictures of same person seems boring. Headline on job elimination is confusing. Good informative sports page. Front page makes it easy to navigate picture.”

Division 2
Dailies Circulation Up to 5,864

1. Henderson Daily News

“Good mix of local stories on front page. The oil and gas story was very well done. Our main criticism is the front page has too much crammed on it. Why, for example, the photo of the old oil tank and narrow cutline — you’ve can’t see the photo well. Loved the picture of the water tower framed by the wreath — very eye-catching. Again, good stories on the front page, especially the loose livestock article. But still too busy — too much competing for the reader’s attention. Nice us of color, however.”

2. Athens Daily Review

“We didn’t understand why the newspaper played the domino story high on the front page, but gave it so little space and jumped after only two grafs. We also didn’t understand why a photo of a building was the dominate front page art. The domino game story cried out for some better art and more about the people in it. Simple yet striking art on the front page (of second issue) and good localizing of the Hurricane Katrina story. Both issues had a strong sports section. We especially liked the stink bait story!”

3. Ennis Daily News

“While we commend the paper for devoting so much space to an important issue such as schools, we found the stories quite dense and in need of quotes from teachers, parents, etc. The front page is very busy and the black headlines, black masthead and black promotion above it are jarring. Good mix of front page stories, but there’s so much competing for the reader’s attention: five stories, five ads, a side news wrapup — whew! Reproduction quality of photos is not very good.”

4. Waxahachie Daily Light

“While the front page has a good mix of stories, the wording is lackluster. There is nothing to grab the reader. The layout is so cluttered and busy and the photos are so tiny and squeezed together. Too much competes for the reader’s attention. The big black headlines don’t help. However, the sports and lifestyle sections were like opening a window and letting some light and fresh air in — clean layouts, nice use of photos, better writing.”

Division 3
Semi-Weeklies

1. Mansfield News-Mirror

“Very newsy and well laid out front page. The paper is very consistent, with good writing throughout (and good editing). The sports section is very strong. This paper comes across as competent and professional. Good back-to-school section. We rate this tops for overall quality and news value.”

2. Wise County Messenger (Decatur)

“The cancer series is compelling reading with strong feature writing and photography. This is an exceptionally well-designed paper. However, it’s almost too clean. The front page seems more like a feature section. Still, minor quibbles for such a good product. Great photograph and color on the front page (second issue). The sports section stands out for an excellent photo on the section front and readable stories. The paper’s strength seems to be features and design.”

3. The Center Light and Champion

“This is a very clean looking paper with good local coverage. Good layout and photography reproduction. Very newsy.”

4. Hood County News (Granbury)

“Nice looking front page with a bold photo. Not too many stories on the front to compete for the reader’s attention. Good layout.”

Division 4
Weeklies 2,600 Circulation and Above

1. Azle News

“Good mix of local news stories. Nice layout and use of color. The sports section is impressive. The lead feature story adds good art and interest. Nice job!”

2. The Wylie News

“This is a very clean, readable paper. Good layout and story placement. The writing is clear and direct. The sports section is especially interesting. The photo reproduction on this (second) issue wasn’t as crisp.”

3. Cedar Creek Pilot (Gun Barrel City)

“Good mix of local news. Layout below the fold is pretty busy. Photos are grainy and not that interesting. The ad competes with the news stories.”

4. Clay County Messenger

“Good mix of local news. Layout needs more creativity. Stories are stacked on the left and right (and so are the photos). Photos have so many people in them (some with backs turned) that they lose their focus. Having a story as the ‘centerpiece’ would improve the whole package. And what about bylines on a story or two?”

Division 5
Weeklies 1,501 Circulation to 2,599

1. Iowa Park Leader

“Very uncluttered, clean layout. Simple but effective lead photo. Clear writing. Great photos in sports section. Excellent lead photo (second issue).”

2. Rockwall County News

“Nice mix of local coverage. Clean layout and design. Color on July 4th photos faded out. Solid sports section.”

3. The Springtown Epigraph

“Very newsy front page. But so many stories look cluttered and complete for the reader’s attention. Writing is clear and straightforward. Good sports section.”

4. The McGregor Mirror

“Good lead story and excellent headline! (Although the photo of a building was rally boring.) More photos above the fold. Three church-related stories below the fold seems like a lot.”

Division 6
Weeklies Up to 1,500 Circulation

1. Alvarado Star

“Very good mix of local news on the front page. Balanced, clean design. Leads were clear and on the mark. Photos below the fold were dark and had too many backs of people More local news inside — not just filler. Sports story adds interest to layout.”

2. Crowley Star

“We like that this paper doesn’t cram too many stories on the front page. Good use of color, Clear, direct news writing. Good action pics on sports section front. All in all a good read. Good mix of local stories. The pic on the lead story (second issue) is so small it’s hard to make out. Clear, direct writing.”

3. The Princeton Herald

“Elegant front page layout. Nice centerpiece photo, clean design. Good sports section — the lake myth story was interesting and so were the graphics.”

4. (Tie) The Leonard Graphic

“The silhouette photo and Army-style headline grab attention. Good layout and use of color on the front page. The writing is good, but long paragraphs make for lots of gray blocks of copy. Good photos on the Army drill story jump. Nice photos and graphics (second issue). Clean design, good reproduction.”

4. (Tie) Joshua Star

“Good mix of Page 1 stories. Clear writing, Reproduction is poor. The ‘Dig It!’ feature adds interest — good headline. Grainy pictures.”