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OLYMPIA – The Newport Miner received a dozen Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest awards, including a third place general excellence award in the 3,400 to 6,499 circulation group, the association’s second largest circulation category.
“The third-place winner is proof that a paper with a very small staff can deliver a well-rounded news product. The opinion pages were chock full of letters to the editor, proof of a strong connection to the community,” judges wrote about the award. The contest was judged by members of Arizona Media Association.
Miner editor Don Gronning received eight awards, including first place awards in photography and writing.
Gronning won first in the portrait category for his picture of Georgene Blomgren, a longtime Newport bus driver.
“1st place captured a nice moment that told the story,” the judge wrote.
Gronning also won first in the education category for his story headlined “Janitor shortage leads to smell and mice,” about the West Bonner County School District.
“Good sensory start to this story about what basically amounts to a kind of child abuse. However blame is placed, it’s good that the community learned this was happening,” the judge wrote.
Gronning won a second- place general news photo award for his photo of Brandon Bauman after he was acquitted at trial, a second place for his election story “He’s back, Dansel touts access to Trump,” and a second place in the government category for his story headlined “Do accurate IRS responses matter to EDC?”
Gronning won a thirdplace award in the news story, long category for his story “Scary week of fire.”
He also won third in the sports feature photo category for a picture of bull riding world champ Shane Procter and a third place in the sports personality profile for his story about Proctor.
The Miner also won second for front page design.
“The page’s stability and curation speak to the commitment to quality and excellence upheld by its creators,” the judges wrote.
The Miner took third place in the tourism special sections category for its Visitor Guide and a third place in the lifestyle culture sections for its senior publication “Golden Years.”
Miner owner/publisher Michelle Nedved was happy with the results of the contest.
“We are so proud of Don Gronning’s efforts, especially since he was a one-man newsroom for a majority of the year,” Nedved said. “We all take what we do very seriously and it’s a much appreciated pat on the back when we win awards at the WNPA.”
