Staff report
As reported last week in a short story on deadline, the Falmouth Outlook was awarded first place in General Excellence for both editorial content and advertising design in the Kentucky Press Association 2024 Newspaper Excellence in Kentucky Awards.
Overall, the Outlook earned 13 first place awards, 12 second place finishes, 17 thirds and two certificates of merit, totaling 44 awards.
Publisher Neil Belcher said, “(Wife and newspaper co-owner) Marilyn and I are extremely proud of our Outlook team for their hard work and dedication to bring quality community journalism to our readers week in and week out. It means so much to see their efforts acknowledged and rewarded by their peers in the newspaper industry. We can’t say enough about how proud we are of our staff.”
For editorial content, the Falmouth Outlook competed against weekly newspapers statewide in Division I. While that’s the smallest circulation-wise of the three divisions in the commonwealth, it’s also a crowded field
In ad design, the Outlook went up against both Division 1 and 2 weeklies.
EDITORIAL
Besides the overall first place, individual awards in editorial content, by category and writer, with comments from judges where provided, were:
BEST BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE, Carolyn Reid and Burton Cole, third place, “Good details on both fires. I liked the prevention tips at the end.”
BEST GENERAL NEWS STORY, Burton Cole, second place, “Well written. Explains clearly what a skimmer is and how it works.”
BEST FEATURE STORY, Burton Cole, first place, “Very solid writing. Mom, baby, animal—always a winning combination.”
BEST COLUMNIST, Burton Cole, first place, “Unique voice and written like a true storyteller. Great use of column inches.”
BEST ENTERPRISE OR ANALYTICAL STORY, Jemi Chew, first place, “Strong reporting on a subject of intense local interest and impact;” Carolyn Reid, second place, “Good public records work;” Carolyn Reid, third place, “An informative look at Southern history via a church group’s travel to museums in Alabama that focus on the impact of slavery and civil rights activism in American life.”
BEST INVESTIGATIVE STORY OR SERIES, Jemi Chew, certificate of merit, “Cities and counties across the country are facing similar dilemmas when it comes to their 911 call centers.”
BEST ONGOING/EXTENDED STORY COVERAGE, Carolyn Reid, first place, “This was well-written and easy to follow;” Carolyn Reid and Jemi Chew, second place, “An important story that has unfortunately played out in numerous cities across the country.”
BEST BUSINESS/AGRIBUSINESS STORY, Nila Harris, second place, “Wonderful articles in tribute to these community icons;” Burton Cole, third place, “Solid story.”
BEST LEDE, Burton Cole, second place, “The solar eclipse lede sets off a picture just by reading it. Nice work;” Jemi Chew, third place, “Dispatchers story lede put this one in a winning mode.”
BEST BREAKING NEWS PICTURE, Carolyn Reid, certificate of merit, “While the image (of the house fire) is not very sharp, the reader has no question as to what is going on. The photographer positioned herself perfectly to help convey the story.”
BEST FEATURE PICTURE, Jemi Chew, third place.
BEST PICTURE ESSAY, Nila Harris, third place, “Nice photos of an event that gets covered every year.”
BEST SPECIAL SECTION, staff, third place, “The cover is tasteful and emblematic of what’s inside.”
BEST FRONT PAGE, Burton Cole, second place, “Neat looking. Strong news writing.”
BEST HEADLINE WRITER, Burton Cole, third place, “‘Allie had a little lamb’ wrapped up third place for you.”
ADVERTISING
Besides the overall first place, individual awards in ad design content, by category with comments from judges where provided, were (all ads designed by Outlook graphic designer, Jessie Beckett:
DEPARTMENT/DISCOUNT/JEWELRY: First place, “Not a typical advertiser you see in newspapers but this one is very well done. And including the prices I imagine drew attention to those in need of monuments;” third place, “Effective ad that drew attention of gun owners and hunters, I’m sure.
AUTOMOTIVE: First place, “Nice large ad that shows all the vehicle services available from the advertiser.”
HARDWARE/APPLIANCE STORES: First place, “One thing for certain, all of the ads for this advertiser are consistent in layout and the amount of information presented;” third, “Not much different from the first place winner. Different products, of course, but the layout and design is consistent.”
FINANCIAL: Second place, “Put this one second though overall.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: First place, “Clean layout, easy to read, and gets the point across”; second, “A good service ad. If only EVERY plumber was honest and professional!”
FOOD AND ALCOHOL: Third place, Jessie Becket and Sam McClanahan.
REAL ESTATE: First place, “Good design with lots of graphics;” third, “Not too different from the first place.”
CLOTHING STORE: First place and second place, “Two entries in this category that have little difference other than the dates of the sale.”
HEALTH CARE/MEDICAL: Third place, “Graphics and the design and color made this ad one of the best.”
BEST SPECIAL SECTIONS COVER: Second and third places, “I bet this coloring contest gets a lot of entries.”
GROUP PROMOTION: Second place, Jessie Beckett and Matt Sorrell, “Very nice coordination between 100 years ago and recognizing the longtime services of these local businesses.”
BEST POLITICAL AD: Second place, “Not a large ad but effective;” third place, “I assume it is designed to support the youth fair pageant/royalty. Small space but good color and stands out.”
BEST BLACK AND WHITE AD: Third place, Jessie Beckett and Sam McClanahan, “Nice that the City of Butler paid tribute to graduates and wished them good luck.”
GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS: Third place, “You can’t miss this ad. The apron makes it stand out. It’s not a graphic you would see every issue but your designer did a great job.”
SPECIAL EVENTS: First place.