The Lincoln County News won four first-place awards in the Oklahoma Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.
The awards were presented Saturday night at the OPA’s convention at the Grand Casino and Hotel. The contest is open to all 147 OPA member newspapers and was judged by members of the Mississippi PressAssociation.The contest was for work published in 2024.
The Lincoln County News also finished third in competition for best newspaper.
Reporter Emily Kalka won first place in feature writing for her article on a naturist resort near Stroud.
“Interesting story! I like the way it was written, and I appreciate how open the interview was,” the judge wrote. “Not everyone has the same definition of happiness, and this story shows your happiness can be outside the box.”
Kalka also won third place in news writing and in-depth reporting.
The Lincoln County News staff won first place in overall photography for work by Jennifer Pryor, Jentezen Smith, Rick Hester and editor and publisher Brian Blansett.
“You do a fabulous job capturing the emotion of your subjects,” the judges wrote. “I love how clearly I can see everyone’s face, the emotions caught during celebrations and the determination in the action shots.”
Blansett won first place in feature photography for the seventh time in the last eight years and for the best photo feature page. The feature photo was of a calf roper at the International Finals Rodeo and the photo page was from East Side Elementary’s pre-k rodeo.
“These children are SO adorable,” the judge wrote. “Photos capture lots of action and fun. Color is great!”
Blansett won eight of 12 possible photo awards and was second in column writing.
Rick Hester won second in feature photography and former intern Jentezen Smith won third in sports writing.
The newspaper and ad director Baylee Billings took second place overall in advertising and the staff won second in sports coverage and community leadership.