The Lincoln County News and staff members won six first-place awards at the Oklahoma Press Association annual convention last week.
The paper won first place in news reporting and editorial comment, reporter Mike McCormick won first place for best news story, photographer Mario Holland won first place in sports photography and editor Brian Blansett won first place for feature photography and photo feature page.
The Lincoln County News competed against newspapers from similarly sized communities across the state. The contest was judged by the Oregon Newspaper Association.
“This paper does a good job of covering its community with solid government reporting, breaking news and crime reporting, some interesting and well-written features and strong photography,” the judges wrote.
McCormick’s award was for his coverage of the investigation of former Judge Tracy Soderstrom.
“Hard-hitting story on allegations of shocking behavior by a judge,” the Oregon judges wrote.
Holland won for his photograph of hurdlers James Duncan of Chandler and Mattox Motley of North Rock Creek clearing the final hurdle at the Meet of Champions.
Blansett’s awards wer for his photo of Chandler cheerleader Emi McGuire doing flips as she led the Lions onto the field for their seasonopener and for a blackand- white full-page photo spread on the Chandler open rodeo.
“Good varied collection of photos depicting different aspects of the sport,” the judges wrote. “The black-and-white also plays an effective role in the presentation.”
In addition to the firstplace awards, the staff also won second place in photography and third place in sports coverage.
McCormick also won third place in news story and second place in sports reporting; reporter Emily Kalka won second place in feature writing; Blansett won second place in column writing, third place in news photography and third place in front page design; Rick Hester and Holland won second and third place in sports photography, giving the Lincoln County News a sweep.
The Oklahoma Press Association includes 170 member newspapers around the state. The contest was for work published in 2023 and awards were presented at the annual convention, which was held in Oklahoma City.