Daily Elk Citian recognized in statewide contest

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Published on Friday, 23 March 2012 15:18

Judges give writing, coverage, ads top place in four categories

The Daily Elk Citian has been notified that out-of-state judges have awarded several top awards in the annual Oklahoma Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest.

In a letter received from the OPA, Executive Vice President Mark Thomas wrote that the independent judges awarded The Daily Elk Citian a first place award in news content. Publisher D.W. Manning said this award, more than any other category, personifies the paper's effort to bring local, up-to-date and relevant news content in a way that is presented with the reader in mind.

"Out of all the awards that we won in this competition, we are most proud of the award for 'News Content,' he said. "That category looks at the main elements that drive this newspaper, when it's all said and done. The judging criteria for that category are based on such things as an emphasis on staff-written, locally generated news stories. The criteria also require that our coverage be balanced with a good mix of stories in all subject areas, including local government, schools, human interest features and breaking news.

Manning said that the judges also look at how well the paper is organized and how easy it is for readers to find information within the paper.

"So this award, more than any other, speaks to the efforts of our entire staff, from writers and editors to the design team," he said.

The Daily Elk Citian also won a first place nod in sales promotion, in-depth enterprise and personal columns. Articles, original advertisements, photographs and letters supporting some of the 2011 entries were sent off earlier this year. The awards banquet is in June.

In The Daily Elk Citian's first competition as a daily newspaper, it either won first place or got as high as fourth in 11 of the contest's 12 categories.

"This is especially gratifying, since this is our first foray into the competition as a daily newspaper," Manning said.

The newspaper was published weekly for about eight years before going daily in August of 2011.

OPA's Better Newspaper Contest recognizes the best of the best in Oklahoma journalism and this year, at least 93 publications submitted items for judging. The papers are then sorted into groups based on circulation.

A newspaper can qualify for the contest's sweepstakes, named the Sequoyah Award, with the more first-through-fourth place awards they receive. In all, the paper was awarded a place in 11 of the contest's 12 categories.

Along with the four first place finishes, The Daily Elk Citian will also accept awards in seven other categories, which are layout and design; advertising; editorial comment; news writing; feature writing; photography and community leadership. In all, the awards represent every facet of the The Daily Elk Citian's product.

"The staff that makes this newspaper happen for Elk City and the surrounding communities every day is outstanding. I would match them against the staff of any newspaper in Oklahoma, and I am very excited to see them receive the recognition they deserve," said Manning. "Obviously, we're always happy to be recognized by our peers, but the best compliment we can receive is for our readers to continue picking up the paper every single day because they depend on us for their news. That's our goal with every paper we publish -- to provide readers and advertisers with the best product possible."