BILOXI — The Commercial Dispatch staff took home 14 awards Saturday in the editorial division of the 2013 Mississippi Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
Managing editor Slim Smith won first place awards for best commentary column, best general interest column and best editorial.
Photographer Luisa Porter won first place for spot photography for her photo in the aftermath of a Luxapalila River drowning.
Page designer Matt Garner won first place for front page design, while editor and publisher Birney Imes won first place for best editorial page.
For the second year in a row, Catfish Alley magazine and Stacy Clark won first place for best periodical.
Reporter Sarah Fowler won third place for in-depth/investigative stories for her coverage of a judge’s questionable Facebook posts regarding a school board member. She also took a third place award for general news story about a judge’s lenient sentencing of a wife beater.
Lifestyles editor Jan Swoope and Garner collectively won second place in the lifestyles section category.
News editor William Browning won second place for feature stories for a profile of a New Hope High School homecoming king. Swoope won third place in the same category for a story on a local breaking in to the music scene in Nashville.
Sports writer Scott Walters won third place for best sports news story on the possible last football game between East Oktibbeha and West Oktibbeha high schools.
The paper won third place for best website.
The Dispatch competed with other daily papers with circulation between 9,000 and 15,000. Entries were judged by the Louisiana Press Association.
Peter Imes is publisher of The Dispatch. You can email him at [email protected].
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.