For the 12th year in a row, the Yellow Springs News won the top prize at an annual state competition for weekly newspapers.
The News was named “Newspaper of the Year” in its division at the Osman C. Hooper Non-Daily Newspaper Competition, which is presented by the Ohio News Media Association. The News has clinched the honor each year since 2011, in addition to earlier wins in 2008 and 2006.
The competition covered the period of Aug. 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021.
Awards were presented virtually on Tuesday, Feb. 24, following the January cancellation of a planned in-person ceremony due to the ongoing pandemic.
The News won in Division C, which comprises weekly papers with a circulation of 2,500 or fewer. Other competitors in Division C included the People’s Defender (Highland County), Archbold Buckeye, News Democrat (Georgetown), Ripley Bee, Lake County Tribune, The Courier (Jefferson), The News (Ashtabula County), Perry County Tribune, Logan Daily News, Galion Inquirer and the Morrow County Sentinel.
The News also came away with seven first-place wins in individual competition categories, as well as four second-place and two third-place awards.
The News competed across all divisions in the “Community Awareness” category, earning second place for reporting that focused on racial issues in the community. Judges noted that “lots of voices in the stories helped readers gain understanding.” The award was shared among the News’ reporting staff, including current reporters Reilly Dixon, Cheryl Durgans, Lauren “Chuck” Shows, Carol Simmons and Jessica Thomas, as well as former reporters Megan Bachman and Audrey Hackett.
The reporting staff also won first place in its division for “News Coverage,” with judges writing that the issues of the News submitted for consideration were “impressive.”
Judges wrote: “The News shows high-level journalistic judgment, with front pages that highlight school, COVID and crime stories with top-notch reporting … [and] copious coverage of news that matters to the community — from calendar listings, to police reports, to letters and news of births, marriages and deaths. An enjoyable read from start to finish.”
