Inter Lake wins 17 press awards at press convention
The Daily Inter Lake
The Daily Inter Lake led all daily newspapers in photography awards at the Montana Newspaper Association's annual convention Saturday, and also won a total of 17 awards, including two first prizes.
First-place awards went to Managing Editor Frank Miele for his "Editor's 2 Cents" column and to photographer Craig Moore for his sports photo of Flathead soccer action.
The judge wrote of Miele's columns that he "spins beautiful, poignant and impassioned stories about his personal life, weaving them into the hot stories of the day, giving a timeless take on today's headlines."
Miele and the staff also won second place for Best Editorial Page.
Moore's action photo - of a Braves soccer player tangled in the net after a goal - was recognized by the judge for the unusual way in which "the player's body position, inside the net, and his glance back to the ball ties it all together." Moore also took third place in the feature photo category for a shot of a deer chasing a dog.
"Moore helped the Inter Lake capture the most photo awards of any major daily newspaper in the state, with seven," noted Miele. "Our photo department includes three of the best photographers anywhere, and we are very proud of them."
Photographer Chris Jordan had the most individual awards on the staff, capturing five. He took third place in sports news for a photo that accompanied a feature on "murderball" and honorable mention in the same category for a wrestling shot. He also took third place and honorable mention in the Best Photo Essay category for his extensive coverage of a woman boxer and a World War II veteran.
Jordan also shared a third-place award for Best Government Reporting for his work with reporter Bill Spence on a package about planning called "Sacred Ground."
Reporter Chery Sabol received a third-place award for Best Short Feature Story for her first-person account of riding in a jet-powered truck at the Blue Angels air show.
Sabol shared a third-place award with photographer Karen Nichols for their spot news coverage of teenage snowboarders who were rescued after two nights in the woods. Nichols also won a separate third-place award in the Spot News Picture category for the same assignment.
Other winners were:
. Best Educational Reporting - Third place to Lynnette Hintze for her series of stories on the Montana Academy.
. Best Lifestyle Pages - Second place to Heidi Gaiser, Kelli Kellogg and others for design and content of a variety of lifestyle pages.
. Best Small Space Advertising - Advertising representative Kara Krause was honored for an ad for Montana Institute of Massage Therapy.
. Headline Writing - Honorable mention for a staff effort.
. Best Sports Feature - Second place to former Inter Lake reporter Rob Backus for his "murderball" story.
"The entire staff did a great job," Miele said. "This is one of the best contest performances ever for the Inter Lake, but more important for us is that we continue to strive to try to be a better newspaper for our readers.
"Our staff of 22 people in the newsroom covers an area roughly the size of Connecticut, which presents immense challenges day by day. But through it all we work hard to bring our readers the stories they want to read and the stories they need to hear."
The Inter Lake competes against the state's larger daily newspapers, those with circulations of 7,500 or more. The 2005 Better Newspaper Contest was judged by members of the North Dakota Newspaper Association.
Several Montana weekly newspapers owned by the Hagadone Corp., which owns the Inter Lake, also competed in the contest. The Bigfork Eagle was winner of the Thomas Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award for the most-honored newspaper among all weeklies and small dailies.
The Eagle won 32 awards in all. Among other Hagadone weeklies, the Hungry Horse News won eight awards, the Lake County Leader won five, and the Whitefish Pilot won four.