NEWS WRITING

Plaques Sponsored by Texas A&M-Commerce
Certificates Sponsored by The Clay County Leader (Henrietta)

Division 1
Dailies 5,865 Circulation and Above

1. Texarkana Gazette

BRAC impact story, Aaron Brand – lots of research, interviews, very in-depth. The amount of research alone merits accolades. Outstanding article – much better and more in-depth that most newspapers would go. Excellent lead. Cloud of Fear, Greg Bischef and Lori Dunn – again very strong writing, great depth, visual writing. Strong lead.

2. The Lufkin Daily News

The story on the death of the student was good, despite some cluttered writing and quotes. The story of rape and torture is graphic and provocative. The lead was interesting and kept me reading. Gripping – and scary – story. I wish the paper had submitted a major breaking news story in addition to the Ashley Cook story.

3. The Daily Sentinel (Nacogdoches)

Exhaustive and gripping work by Mr. Johnson. The writing kept me reading to the end. The story on the at-large couple was interesting – good writing, although the lead was not very clear. But this is probably because the story is familiar to the reader of the routine.

4. The Paris News

Great use of quotes. Very informative and in-depth. This made a city council meeting sound exciting, which is no doubt a small miracle. Gunman opens fire, 5 dead — very good writing, made the story easy to visualize.

Division 2
Dailies Circulation Up to 5,864

1. Athens Daily Review

A bit “boosterish” (Is anyone opposed to this plant? Any cautionary voices?), but thoroughly researched. It lays out the benefits well. Excellent lead and headline. Great human interest story about the stories behind the headlines.

2. Waxahachie Daily Light

Good coverage of collision and its aftermath. Exhaustive coverage of the justice center. We’re glad to see a paper devote this much space to a topic of such local interest.

3. Ennis Daily News

Good beginning – and good ending. Very readable story. But where’s the picture? That would have made this a great package. Good assessment of storm damage. Clear writing.

4. Henderson Daily News

Good local story in straight news style. Straight news story, clear and readable.

Division 3
Semi-Weeklies

1. Mansfield News-Mirror

Good stories about local people as Mansfield grapples with growth. Consistently solid news writing. Hard-working reporters. Good story about thieves targeting construction sites and the aftermath of a death.

2. Wise County Messenger (Decatur)

Good straight news story, covered all the bases. Excellent beginning, powerful, compelling, good ending.

3. Burleson Star

Good story (although we’d classify it as a feature more than news). Good lead.

4. Hood County News (Granbury)

Good straight news story about wildfire; quotes from residents are lacking. Good focus on people in this news story.

Division 4
Weeklies 2,600 Circulation and Above

1. Azle News

Good beginning. Straight news story covers all the elements.

2. Mineola Monitor

Good story on local reaction to the Canton shooting. Good lead and coverage of the flood.

3. Cedar Creek Pilot (Gun Barrel City)

Very strong story, good lead. The rampage story didn’t seem that significant. The Bryan Nutt story was a lot stronger.

4. Tri-County Leader (Whitehouse)

Good quality of writing, good news value.

Division 5
Weeklies 1,501 Circulation to 2,599

1. Iowa Park Leader

Good quality of writing. Good lead. Good news value. Good hard-news stories.

2. The Springtown Epigraph

Good quality of writing, lead and news value. Good news story. Focuses the news on what’s relevant to local readers.

3. The McGregor Mirror

Good headline. Paragraphs are too long. Write in more readable news style with “fractured” paragraphs. Reporting quality is good. Too long lead. Break up those paragraphs.

4. Rockwall County News (Rockwall)

Good quality of writing. Good lead. Good news value. Good enterprise.

Division 6
Weeklies Up to 1,500 Circulation

1. Crowley Star

Good quality of writing. Good lead. Good news value.

2. Keene Star

Good quality of writing. Good lead, interesting angle to the hurricane story. Good news value. Good enterprise.

3. The Leonard Graphic

Good beginning, Good human interest story. Good localization of shooting incidents.

4. The Gladewater Mirror

Good news value.