Home News, Boulder City News garner 71 press association awards

The Home News

Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 | 2:37 p.m.

The Home News and Boulder City News won a combined 71 statewide awards tonight, including General Excellence for small weeklies, in the Nevada Press Association’s Better Newspapers Contest in Mesquite.

The Boulder City News was named the best small weekly newspaper in the state with the general excellence award, as well as the advertising general excellence award.

Editorial cartoonist Alex Raffi won best cartoon in the state among all newspapers, and Boulder City News reporter Cassie Tomlin won Journalist of Merit among small weekly newspapers.

The Home News publishes seven community newspapers, including the Henderson Home News, Green Valley Home News, South Valley Home News, Silverado Home News, two editions of the Summerlin Home News and the Boulder City News. The papers are part of Greenspun Media Group.

The Boulder City News won 35 awards total, among them 21 first places, six second places, five third places and two honorable mentions in the annual competition among the state’s newspapers.

The Home News won 36 awards total: 10 first-place awards, 10 second place, 13 third place and three honorable mentions. Among the first-place awards were best overall design and advertising general excellence.

“Strong reporting and visual impact give this newspaper a breadth of coverage not often seen in communities this size,” the judges wrote of the Boulder City News. “Excellent newspaper.”

Raffi’s cartoon compared the political convention super delegates to Superman, and the judges said, “Hits home on a key issue in the Democratic selection process.”

Tomlin, who has been at the Boulder City News for almost a year, “shows she has her Boulder City beat completely covered,” the judges wrote. “What an asset to have a versatile reporter like Cassie in the newsroom of a small weekly.”

In addition, the Boulder City News and Henderson Home News brought home the following awards:

Boulder City News

First place: Bill Erin, non-staff columnist; Josh Primack, page design; Cassie Tomlin, feature story; Craig Peterson, headline writing; Brent Hinckley, sports column; Mona Shield Payne, sports photo; Kate S. Alexander, business news story; Nicole Feneberg Lucht and Joan Patterson, investigative or in-depth story; Jean Reid Norman, editorial writing; Cary Edmonson, feature photo and multiple feature photos; Donna O’Callaghan, large-space ad; Paul Huntsberry, spot-color ad and multi-color ad; editorial page; overall design; page one design; and special section.

Second place: Community service for “Cost of Combat”; Tomlin, spot news story; Peterson, page design; Payne, general news photo and feature photo; and Lori Rester, large-space ad.

Third place: Dave Clark, explanatory journalism; Hinckley, sports feature; Heather Cory, feature photo; Huntsberry and Sandy Vong, spot-color ad; Audria Ruscitti, in-house ad.

Honorable mention: Hinckley, sports story; and Huntsberry, black and white ad.

Henderson Home News

First place: Clark, investigative or in-depth story; Judy Miller Gerard, local non-staff column; Kirk Baird, entertainment writing; Raffi, illustration; Payne, general news photo; Edmonson, feature photo; Ruscitti, black and white ad and multi-color ad.

Second place: Hinckley, sports story; Steve Green, editorial writing; Primack, page design; Payne, spot news photo; Cory, general news photo; Jason Scavone and Jummel Hidrosollo, illustrated photo; Ruscitti, black and white ad and spot color ad; page one design; and community service.

Third place: Jeff Pope, spot news; Becky Bosshart and Tim Mullin, feature story; Pope, explanatory journalism and news feature story; Christopher Drexel, sports story and sports feature; Norman, editorial writing; Jerel Harris, general news photo; Edmonson, multiple feature photo; Rester, in-house ad; editorial page; special section; business coverage.

Honorable mention: Beth Dickman, business feature; Sean Ammerman, sports story; Scavone, page design.