Southeast Missourian earns 30 awards in state contest

The Southeast Missourian recently was honored with 30 awards in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards cover a broad range of categories, including news and feature stories, photography, design, sports coverage and general excellence. Among the more than two dozen honors, the Southeast Missourian, its journalists, photojournalists and designers received seven first-place and 12 second-place awards.

The newspaper took first place in the best overall design category and second place in general excellence.

The judges called the design “reminiscent of a big-city newspaper with a local focus,” praised the prominent use of photographs in the masthead and use of photos, fonts and white space and called the classified section “amazing.”

A second-place honor in the best front page category garnered praise for a promotion of state baseball.

Flourish, the quarterly lifestyle magazine geared toward women, earned first place as the best magazine or alternative publication, selected over magazines produced by the Kansas City Star and the Jefferson City News Tribune.

Features editor Robyn Gautschy was excited to see the magazine honored so highly.

“The Flourish tagline is ‘Thrive. Empower. Shine.’ and that’s what we try to provide in every issue — content that gives women the information they need to thrive at work, at home and in their community,” Gautschy said in an email. “I love that our local readers enjoy the magazine, and it’s awesome to know that people outside our area see the value in our magazine, too.”

The Southeast Missourian also received recognition as having the best website in its class.

The newspaper’s photography department took in several accolades. In the best news photo category, the Southeast Missourian received three of four awards. Photo editor Laura Simon earned first place for her photo “Long Way Home,” which features a young man looking out over floodwaters covering a portion of Highway 177 just north of Cape Girardeau.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I don’t like about this photo,” the judge’s comment read, calling it a “truly incredible picture.”

The judges’ praise for the newspaper’s photography department includes several of its photo packages as well as sports and feature art.

The layout of the photos, too, was recognized. Lead designer Nadir Hussein was praised for his work on the photo package “Bearded Bliss,” which the judge called a “great feature.”

Newsroom journalists and sports journalists past and present were recognized for their coverage. Mark Bliss was recognized for a story about Perry County residents’ concern about the river levee during a flood.

“The writer makes you feel the anxiety, the concern over potential flooding, and every sentence begs you to read the next,” the judge commented.

Ben Kleine’s story about a Perryville High School honor student’s arrest due to a paperwork error in the prosecutor’s office earned third place. The judges called it “good writing” and said it “probably helped clear up a lot of rumors in the school and community.”

Erin Unerstall’s feature story on Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball coach Rekha Patterson, which the judges called “an insightful, moving interview,” earned second place. Her story on Southeast Missouri State’s 24-year history of Division I men’s basketball garnered second place as best sports news story or package.

The package of Trent Singer’s story of the Cape Girardeau Central High School football team state semifinal loss to Webb City and Josh Mlot’s examination of Al Young’s high-school football career earned third place in that category.

Southeast Missourian editor Bob Miller expressed pride in the paper and the work its staff produces.

“We’re here first and foremost to inform our readers of the happenings in their communities. We’re here to let people know what their local governments are doing and how they’re spending their tax dollars. We’re here to tell stories of people, and all the wonderful and creative things they do to make our communities thrive. We’re here to capture images of people and the work they do and the changes that are happening in our towns and cities, and those important moments of tragedy and triumph,” Miller said in an email.

It’s a calling he and the staff of the Southeast Missourian believe in, he said.

“So I offer my congratulations to our reporters, photographers and editors who pour themselves into their work. They are deserving of these awards and accolades,” he said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630