Paper takes second in General Excellence

The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association (ONPA) presented its 2008 Better Newspaper Contest and Associate Member Publications Contest awards during the association’s annual Summer Publishers Convention, held July 18 at Salishan Spa & Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, and the Burns Times-Herald walked away with five awards.

The most coveted award for Oregon newspapers is the General Excellence award. Winners of the Elmo Smith Award for General Excellence for nondaily newspapers were divided into three circulation divisions. The Burns Times-Herald won second place in its division for weekly papers with a 3,500 or less circulation. The Creswell Chronicle was first, and third place went to the West Linn Tidings.

In other awards the Burns Times-Herald won three first-place awards and one third-place award. Editor Debbie Raney won first place in the Best Editorial Page category. Reporter Randy Parks won first place in the Best Local Column category. Reporter Lauren Brown won first place in the Best Educational Coverage category and third place for Best Section Front or Inside Page Design.

Of the 88 ONPA general member newspapers, 55 submitted entries in the 2008 Better Newspaper contest. A total of 2,003 entries were submitted for the contest, of which 450 won awards. The contest was judged by members of the Colorado Press Association.

All of the winning entries, plus award summaries for each newspaper, are posted on the ONPA web site at www.orenews.com. Choose “Contests” from the Members tab.