Awards presented at APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest

Several major awards were presented to journalists at the recent APA Convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Little Rock. It was a special convention this year as it marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of the APA, the oldest trade association in the state.

The winners were announced as part of the annual APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest awards ceremony.

“It was gratifying to honor these outstanding journalists as they are continuing the standard of excellence established by the special awards’ namesakes,” said APA Executive Director Ashley Kemp Wimberley. “The work of these dedicated honorees shows that the newspaper industry in Arkansas remains in good hands.”

The awards, along with comments from each recipient, are:

FREEMAN-GREENBERG PRIZE FOR EDITORIAL WRITING

The award is named in honor of Edmond W. Freeman III, longtime publisher of the Pine Bluff Commercial, and Paul Greenberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor of the Commercial and later editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The winner’s editorial was entitled “Being left with broken pieces,” with the judges remarking that it addressed a tough subject that needs more attention.

Steve Watts, editor, The Daily Citizen, Searcy:

“Sometimes you just want to know how you measure up, or if you even do.

It’s not necessarily a need to be the best or to win, although those are often the measures that are used. It’s simply a desire for confirmation that you are pretty good at what you’ve chosen to do.

That’s why I was so pleased to be named the Freeman-Greenberg Prize winner. In its second year, the specialty award is given to the top editorialist among all the winning editorialists in the state.

It was my Oscar moment, or as close as I’ll probably get to one. (OK, the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing, which Paul Greenberg once won, is probably more equivalent to an Oscar, but it’s still a great honor to be recognized for your writing among journalists you know and respect for their ability.)

Our former sports editor, Mark Buffalo, told me that I should have seen the look on my face when my name was announced. I was certainly shocked, especially since I thought my third-place editorial, ‘Rally around Chandler,’ was my better editorial. I did not think I would win for ‘Being left with broken pieces.’

That editorial concerned the fatal shootings of 23-year-old Maddison Clevenger in Searcy in May 2020 and 17-year-old Hunter Brittain of McRae in June 2021 and how ‘too many of us are just being left with broken pieces from the perpetual cycle of violence.’ The judge who picked that editorial as the winner wrote that it was a ‘tough subject that needs more attention.’

I am truly grateful to be able to share my opinion with our readers each week, even if it can be challenging sometimes both to pick a topic and to share my thoughts on it. It is just one person’s opinion, of no greater value than anyone else’s viewpoint, but at least for this year I have evidence that it measures up against the best editorial writing in the state.”

See Awards page 2