Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Webster City - The Daily Freeman-Journal Entry Title: DFJ editorial pages Entry Credit: Jane Curtis Judge Comment: What great quality editorial pages! Clean and straightforward layout, and there's such warmth in the columns, with the topics that are state-specific or hyper-local but with broad appeal. The "Our Neighborhood" column - so great. Everyone has a story, and highlighting someone whose story was not known to readers previously is a beautiful way to honor your community's history. Also enjoyed that every editorial page cited the First Amendment and listed how to reach local and federal officials. Education along with a not-so-subtle nudge reminding people to exercise their freedom of speech and appreciate the freedom of the press!
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Iowa Falls - Times Citizen Entry Title: Times Citizen Best Editorial Page Entry Credit: Elaine Loring, Times Citizen Staff Judge Comment: Nice selection of stories (Honor Flight; Glamour Shots) mixed in with an editorial that points out potential concern for citizens (Zoom), which was accompanied by a very timely letter to the editor. Appreciate that the cartoons that hit on a hot topic for that week (coronation, Beatles/AI, Twitter) and that there was such emotional range in the editorial section – humor, frustration, anger, compassion, nostalgia.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Spencer - Spencer Daily Reporter Entry Title: Best Editorial Pages Entry Credit: Skyler Sebby Judge Comment: Great example of a variety of strong ideas presented in a thought-provoking way. I appreciate the opinions expressed even when I did not agree with them, and I could easily see these pages prompting lively debate at a coffee shop or around the dinner table. Also enjoyed the mix of global, national, and super-local topics.
