Taos News, N'West Iowa Review, Antelope County News of Nebraska are top winners in NNA news-editorial contest

Current print edition of the Taos News

The Taos News of New Mexico, the N'West Iowa Review of Sheldon and the Antelope County News of Nebraska were among winners of awards for general editorial excellence in the National Newspaper Association Foundation's annual Better Newspaper Contest, announced Monday.

The Taos News won among weeklies with circulations of 6,000 to 9,999. The Review won the 3,000-5,999 class, and the Antelope County News won among those with circulation under 3,000. The Park Cities People of Dallas won the 10,000-and-up class and the Sioux City Journal won the daily class. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle of Cheyenne won second place among dailies. Other second placers were the Idaho Mountain Express of Ketchum, 10,000 and up; the Jackson Hole News & Guide of Jackson, Wyo., 6,000-9,999; The Highlands Current of Cold Spring, N,Y. (a reader-funded nonprofit), 3,000-5,999; and the News Letter Journal of Newcastle, Wyo., under 3,000.

The Highlands Current won NNA''s Civic-Community Service Award for the second year in a row, for a five-part series on the history of African Americans in the Hudson Highlands; the Taos News was runner-up.

The Tribune Eagle won first place among dailies for best local-government reporting. Weekly winners were Preston Hollow People of Dallas, 15,000 and up; the News & Guide, 6,000-14,999; The Standard Banner of Jefferson City, Tenn., 4,000-5,999; The Ark of Tiburon, Calif., which won first, second and third places in the 2,000-3,999 class; and the Southwest Ledger of Elgin, Okla., under 2,000.

The Uvalde Leader-News of Texas won Best Editorial among 2,000-3,999-circulation weeklies, for "Delay may be darkest hour," about law-enforcement officers' delay in dealing with the shooter who killed 19 children at Robb Elementary School last May. Other weekly editorial first places were The Examiner of Beaumont, Texas, 10,000-14,999; the Taos News, 6,000-9,999; the Review, 4,000-5,999; and the Marietta Monitor of Oklahoma, under 2,000.

The Wyoming Truth of Laramie won among dailies for best investigative or in-depth story or series. Weekly winners were The Maine Monitor, 10,000 circ. and up; The Highlands Current, 3,000-9,999; and the Manchester Cricket of Massachusetts, under 3,000.

The Taos News was judged to have the best website. The News & Guide won first place in social-media journalism, and the Casa Grade Dispatch of Arizona was second. The Antelope County News won first prize for best use of social media for breaking news, and the Cedar County News of Hartington, Neb., was second.

The winners will be recognized at a ceremony Sept. 30 during NNA’s annual convention in Washington, D.C. Registration to to attend the awards is here. NNA said the contest received 1,312 entries.