recognized in state newspaper contest

The Star News recognized in state newspaper contest

The Star News received three first place awards among the 17 total awards won by the paper’s staff in the 2020 Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were announced during a video-streamed ceremony last week. The normal awards banquet was not held due to COVID-19. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in both news and advertising with competition among newspapers by circulation size and among all weekly and daily newspapers in the state. The Star News competes in the large weekly newspaper division. This year’s contest included 2,051 entries from 103 newspapers. This year’s contest was judged by the Texas Newspaper Association.

The five newspapers in the group owned by the O’Leary family took home a combined 52 awards in both news and advertising including 14 first place awards.

As a paper, The Star News did well, taking honorable mention in the general excellence competition for large weekly newspapers. The judge wrote, “Even though this is a smaller publication, it’s bursting with big, colorful photographs. Has all of the usual small town news you expect to read about in a local newspaper. Really nice school and sports coverage.”

Individually, the news staff of The Star News had success with two first place awards and a number of seconds, thirds and honorable mention awards.

Matt Frey took first place in best sports section. This is the second year in a row that Frey’s sports pages were picked as the best among large weeklies in the state.

Brian Wilson took first place for best sports action photo for a photo of a bull rider taken at the K BAR R Horns and Hooves Challenge last July. The judge wrote, “Great, hard-to-get bull riding action shot.”

The Star News was also recognized for editorial writing with Wilson taking third place for editorials among large weekly newspapers for editorials calling out inaction in the state legislature in response to COVID-19, saying “red flag” laws need to be considered and reminding people that there are people being the COVID-19 statistics. The judge wrote, “strong words for state politicos and a good explanation of their short-sighted reasoning to reopen during a pandemic. Nice job reminding people about the humanity behind the numbers. The public, thanks to HIPAA laws, has been blocked from seeing much of the real damage done by this virus. Also, good commentary on red flag laws and importance of USPS. Really liked the diversity of topics - local, state, federal - covered in your editorials.” Wilson also won first place for editorials written for the Courier-Sentinel in Cornell which competes in the small weekly newspaper division.

Wilson took third place in sports feature stories for an article about Jackie Lemke curling at nationals. The judge wrote, “I loved the photos and the telling of Jackie Lemke’s story. Sportswriting comes alive when we seek out and share an underdog story and you did it very well.”

Wilson took a third place in coverage of the coronavirus with “Sheriff defends statement on masks; Infection fears, isolation are part of the new normal; Every day a fresh start; Letter to the future; COVID-19 survivor says illness is nothing to laugh about.” The judge wrote, “‘Sheriff’s department won’t enforce governor’s order, but other agencies may’: Good, solid news reporting. ‘Infection fears, isolation are part of the new normal’: Good interview, solid information, hard to judge Q& As for contest. Letter to the future - I love the idea. Great job! ‘COVID- 19 survivor says illness is nothing to laugh about’: Great insight into someone who had COVID. Good continuation of column to the future.”

Wilson took third place in reporting on local government in large weekly newspapers with “Childcare provider calls for safer road crossing; County weighs options for dam projects; and County approved $9.5 million for internet.” The judge wrote, “The three stories illustrate the paper’s breadth of coverage. Consider tightening the lead on the crosswalk story. The police chief’s study is a great way to start, but condense those graphs so it will have a greater impact.”

Frey once again was recognized for his sports columns. He received honorable mention for the following columns: “Reminded of two great moments in Brewers history that almost never happened; This week’s calendar page a reminder of what could have been; and Confusing Thursday was obviously just the start of uncertain time.”

Frey also was recognized with an honorable mention for artistic photo for “Season over.” The judge wrote, “ Simple — but conveys your message.”

In the advertising side of the competition, The Star News continued to demonstrate success in serving area businesses.

Advertising manager Kelly Schmidt praised the advertising and graphic design staff for their hard work and skill in serving the needs of area businesses. Schmidt praised the level of cooperation between The Star News and its sister publications, helping to serve businesses throughout the region.

The Star News staff was recognized for two advertising special sections which were produced in 2020. The staff received second place among large weekly newspapers for “Taylor County Progress 2020.” The judge wrote, “Great progress edition. Solid editorial commitment along with great retro look from many of your advertisers. Edit to advertising ratio is good, revenue looks strong with good advertiser participation. Layout is good. Loved the cover and overall product. Very nice.”

The Star News staff took third place with the summer “Staycation 2020” section. The judge wrote, “When times get tough due to COVID, creative ideas like this can make a difference in a newspaper’s bottom line. As a reader, I found the issue to be extremely useful. When families are staying home and not traveling far during the pandemic, finding things to do locally can be challenging. I thought your use of space throughout the section to be excellent. Your dining guide map and key were great as well as your recipe ideas from readers. All in, great product and creativity in terms of growing revenue. Wonderful job. You should be proud.”

In the best use of art services category Mandi Troiber took first place with “Taylored News” and the entire design team took third place for an ad for “Purse Bingo.”

Julie Seifert took second place in use of local photography with an ad celebrating the success of the Medford swimming team. The judge wrote, “The photos compliment the layout of this page.”

Seifert also took a third place in the best small ad category for the Farm Benefit ad. The judge wrote, “Good use of milk can to help this event ad stand out on page.” Sarah Komarek took honorable mention in this category for an ad for the Medford Curling Club.

In addition to her award-winning work for advertising in The Star News, Komarek received recognition for outstanding ads that appeared in The Record-Review. She took second place in the Bill Payne award which recognizes overall outstanding advertising across all advertising categories for “Merry Christmas: Preserving community based education.” The judge wrote, “Great layout very appealing to the eye. Great use of photos. ” Komarek also took third place for best ad series for “Maple Grove School ads.” She took first place in the best use of color category for small weeklies with “Maple Grove School: Preserving community based education.” The judge wrote, “Great color — hope it held up in print. Awesome photos of the kids.”

General manager Kris O’Leary praised the entire staff for their commitment and hard work over the past year. She said that the past year has been a challenging one due to COVID-19 and praised the entire staff for pulling together and putting out an award-winning product serving the advertisers, readers and communities.

The Star News and its staff won many awards as part of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest. (Above) Graphic designer Sarah Komarek with the advertising awards, (Above, right) News editor Brian Wilson with his awards (Right) Sports editor Matt Frey with his awards.

KRIS O’LEARY/THE STAR NEWS