SBJ wins 5 awards at Missouri newspaper contest

SBJ file photo

SBJ earns first- and second-place awards for its story package, “When a lawsuit threat arrives in the mail,” about Luke Rogers and his business Ultimate Bubble Sports LLC.

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SBJ wins four awards at annual newspaper contest

Springfield Business Journal won five awards at the annual Better Newspaper Contest hosted by the Missouri Press Association.

Two awards, a first-place and second-place finish, were for the same story package: “When a lawsuit threat arrives in the mail.”

In the Class 2 Weeklies category for a circulation of 3,001 to 7,000, SBJ earned one first-place honor, two second-place nods, a third-place award and one honorable mention. Sixty-nine of MPA’s more than 230 newspaper members were honored during the conference held Sept. 15 in St. Louis, said Matthew Barba, editor of MPA.

Below is the list of SBJ awards, with judges’ comments.

First-place award:
    •    Best Page Design: “When a lawsuit threat arrives in the mail” — Wes Hamilton
“Beautiful presentation makes it easy for the reader to enter the main story on the page.”

Second-place awards:
    •    Best News or Feature Series: Coverage on the changing food industry — Jana Bounds and Eric Olson
“The writers used a direct and uncluttered writing style to clearly lay out a complex economic system involving area agriculture, making it both accessible and understandable for the reader.”

    •    Best Business Story: “When a lawsuit threat arrives in the mail” — Sydni Moore and Eric Olson
“An informative story from a business owner's point of view.”

Third-place award:
    •    Best Page Design: “It’s an App World” — Wes Hamilton
“For having little room to work with because of the ad stack, this is an eye-catching presentation that really serves the reader.”

Honorable mention:
    •    Best Breaking News Story: "Entrepreneur sentenced to probation for bitcoin crime" — Geoff Pickle

Other winners in SBJ’s coverage area, in alphabetical order, were:
    •    Bolivar Herald-Free Press, five awards;
    •    Branson Tri-Lakes News, four awards;
    •    Christian County Headliner News, 26 awards;
    •    Greene County Commonwealth, one award;
    •    Lebanon Daily Record, 12 awards;
    •    Monett Times, 10 awards; and
    •    Springfield News-Leader, 28 awards.