The Morgan Hill Times continued its tradition of excellence as
it was recognized at the California Newspaper Publishers
Association annual Better Newspaper Contest with three first place
and one second place awards.
“To say it’s an honor to be recognized by your peers with such a
distinction would be an understatement,” Publisher Steve Staloch
said.
The Morgan Hill Times continued its tradition of excellence as it was recognized at the California Newspaper Publishers Association annual Better Newspaper Contest with three first place and one second place awards.
“To say it’s an honor to be recognized by your peers with such a distinction would be an understatement,” Publisher Steve Staloch said. “And while it’s important, I see it as validation of what we do every publishing day – present our readers with the finest community newspaper possible. That makes the Morgan Hill Times relevant to the community and it motivates us to do what we do even better. As this award proves, sometimes bigger is not necessarily better.”
The Times earned a first place in Editorial Comment for an editorial on the threat replica guns had for causing real tragedies and first place in Editorial Pages for its Opinion section.
Photographer Chris Riley took first place in the sports photography category for his image “Acorns go Nuts” which showed the Live Oak Women’s Soccer Team celebrating after tying for the CCS Championship in February. Chief photographer James M. Mohs was awarded second place for his photo essay on a local pot-belly pig ranch.
“The Times has a long history of excellence in its coverage of the community,” Editor Marcus Hibdon said. “This is another testament to the quality of the publication. It’s always nice to be recognized by other journalists, but its more important to be embraced by your community. We’ll continue to work diligently on providing Morgan Hill with the best coverage possible.”
The Times also received certificates of achievement for front page design, page layout and design, spot news photography and the morganhilltimes.com Web site.
This year’s contest drew a total of 4,500 submissions, according to Bryan Clark, CNPA’s director of member services.
“The (finalists) are a culmination of the best of the best from each newspaper,” Clark said.
The judging process for the CNPA awards lasts six months, beginning with a general round up of submissions from hundreds of newspapers across the state. After winnowing submissions to four in each category, top winners are chosen by a nine-member blue ribbon panel of judges. This year, that group included a number of California newsroom leaders as well as the editor of the American Journalism Review and a former editor of the Dallas Morning News.
The Times’ sister publications, The Gilroy Dispatch and the Hollister Free Lance, also received several significant accolades during the competition.
The Gilroy Dispatch won the coveted General Excellence Award for newspapers under 10,000 circulation – the top prize in its category. In all, the Dispatch walked away from the ceremony with 11 awards, 10 of which were first place prizes.
The Dispatch won: General Excellence; first place local spot news; first place feature story; first place arts and entertainment coverage; first place lifestyle coverage; first place front page; first place layout and design; first place photo essay; first place special issue; first place freedom of information; and second place columns, commentary and criticism.
In San Benito County, the Free Lance won five awards including second place in General Excellence for newspapers under 10,000 circulation.
The Times is one of several area newspapers owned by Mainstreet Media Group. Mainstreet’s most recent acquisition, the weekly Sunday Pinnacle, won 10 awards, including General Excellence for its Hollister edition.
