Staff Reports
INDIANAPOLIS — The Republic has been named the best newspaper of its size in the 2018 Hoosier State Press Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest.
The Republic finished first in General Excellence, based on points accumulated by the newspaper in individual categories. It was the fifth-straight year that The Republic earned the HSPA General Excellence award in its division.
That honor was among 20 awards earned by The Republic news staff in the 2018 contest. The Republic staff won 10 first-place awards, five second-place awards; and four third-place awards. A Republic team was also a Story of the year finalist.
The contest period covered entries published between July 1, 2017, and April 30, 2018.
The Republic competed in Division 5, the second largest in the contest, for newspapers with paid circulation between 10,000 and 19,999, which included publications based in Lafayette, Bloomington, Merrillville, Muncie, Kokomo, Terre Haute and Anderson.
Here are summaries of The Republic’s winning entries, announced Saturday at the Indianapolis Marriott North.
First place
General Excellence: Staff, based on point totals from all winning entries.
Best Newspaper Design: Staff, for a selection of editions, published Aug. 27, 2017; and Jan. 28 and April 7, 2018.
Best Editorial Page: Staff, for a selection of three Opinion pages, published Oct. 6, 2017; and Jan. 25 and March 4, 2018.
Best Sports Section: Staff, for a selection of editions, published Sept. 24, and Nov. 5 and 24, 2017.
Best Feature Section/Pages: Staff, for a selection of editions of the Faith & Community section, published July 1 and 29, and Oct. 28, 2017.
Best Business Section/Pages: Staff, for a selection of Sunday Business editions, published July 23, Oct. 22 and Nov. 5, 2017.
Best Special Section: Staff, for “Run & Fun Mill Race Marathon” magazine, published Sept. 17, 2017.
Website: Staff, for content published online during the contest period.
Best Ongoing News Coverage: Kirk Johannesen and Mark Webber for “Children Removed,” which included stories about local children from at-risk families in the child-welfare system, published March 11 and April 29, 2018.
General Commentary: The late Harry McCawley for a selection of Opinion page columns: On a letter by Lady Bird Johnson when she was first lady of the United States, published July 6, 2017; on comparisons between Columbus and Carmel, published Aug. 10, 2017; and about a Republic reader, Geoff Vincent, published Aug. 24, 2017.
Second place
Community Service: Staff, for three installments of the ongoing series Addicted & Dying and other stories on the opioid epidemic in Bartholomew County, as well as editorials on the matter, published January-April 2018.
Best Feature Section/Pages: Staff, for a selection of editions of the GO! section, published Sept. 7 and 21, and Oct. 19, 2017.
Headline writing: Staff, for a selection of three headlines: “Got their goat: Annual 4-H exhibition makes for one baa-d day,” published July 9, 2017; “Heat wave throws road crews a 90-degree curve,” published July 21, 2017; and “O Henrys: Father, son to compete in triathlon World Championships,” published July 28, 2017.
Best In-Depth Feature or Feature Package: Brian Blair and Julie McClure, for stories on the “Columbus” movie, published Aug. 17 and Sept. 2, 9 and 15, 2017.
Best Feature Photo: Mike Wolanin, for a photograph of student Matt Boldrey getting a face full of water during the Columbus North homecoming tricycle race, published Sept. 30, 2017.
Third place
Best Ongoing News Coverage: Staff, for coverage of the death of U.S. Army Sgt. Jonathon Hunter of Columbus, published Aug. 22-23 and 25-27, 2017.
Headline writing: Staff, for a selection of three headlines: “Reel passion: Risk paying dividends for movie’s director,” published Aug. 17, 2017; “Clockwork Orange: East coasts past Terre Haute North, moves on to semistate,” published Nov. 11, 2017; and “Say it ain’t snow,” published Dec. 11, 2017.
Best Sports News or Feature Coverage: Ted Schultz, for a story on Columbus East student and football player Jonah Wichman, who was driving when his friend and teammate Abbott Garn was killed in a vehicular accident, published Dec. 17, 2017.
Best Use of Graphics: Staff, for a selection of graphics, published Aug. 21 and Sept. 15, 2017, and Jan. 28, 2018.
Finalist
Story of the Year: Kirk Johannesen and Mark Webber for “Children Removed,” which included stories about local children from at-risk families in the child-welfare system, published March 11 and April 29, 2018.
