The Dispatch took home 15 awards from the Mississippi Press Association’s 2016 Better Newspaper Contest, including four first-place honors.
The awards were announced Saturday during a joint convention of the Mississippi and Louisiana press associations in Biloxi.
Dispatch General Manager Peter Imes won both first and second place among all Mississippi daily newspapers for graphic design. His winning entry was an infographic and map noting shooting incidents across Columbus.
Reporter Alex Holloway took top honors for General News Story among newspapers in the Dispatch’s circulation division for his article on former Columbus councilman Marty Turner’s data usage on a city-paid cellphone plan.
Photographer Deanna Robinson won the circulation division’s Spot News Photograph category for a picture of first responders rescuing a cow from the Tombigbee River.
Lifestyles Editor Jan Swoope won first place in the circulation division for Lifestyles Section.
Second place winners included Isabelle Altman, In-Depth/Investigative Coverage; Adam Minichino, Sports Column and Game Story; Slim Smith, General Interest Column; and Scott Walters, Sports Feature.
Third place winners were Matt Garner, Front Page Design; Zack Plair, Feature Story; Slim Smith, Commentary Column; and Scott Walters, Game Story.
The newspaper won third place for General Excellence in its circulation division.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.