Capital Journal wins top honor

ABERDEEN, S.D. — The Capital Journal, Pierre, S.D., took top honors winning first place in General Excellence at the 126th annual Better Newspapers Conference of the South Dakota Newspaper Association held on April 5, 2008.

The annual contest celebrates excellence in writing, photography, page design, advertising creativity, ad design and public service projects and the General Excellence awards are based on the overall quality of the newspapers as judged by members of the Nevada Press Association. The Capital Journal was judged in comparison to other daily newspapers in the state with less than 16,000 circulation.

Publisher David Collins accepted the first-place award on behalf of the Capital Journal at the Saturday evening banquet.

For consideration for the award, newspapers had to submit editions from two specific dates, selected randomly by SDNA, as well as one other editions of the newspaper’s choice from 2007.

The Capital Journal also received a third-place award in the Best Typography and Design category, second place in Best Special Issue for the 2007-2008 Newcomer’s Guide and third place for Best Public Service Project in its coverage of the Pierre-area Relay for Life event.

Also among the editorial awards, third place in the Best Spot News Photo category and honorable mention in the Best Local General Interest Column and Laura Haatvedt won second place in the Best Sports Column category.

In the individual advertising portion of the competition, Josie Huck was given an honorable mention for the Most Original Creative Idea and Amanda Peck received third place for the Best Classified Section.

“I couldn’t be anymore pleased and proud for our staff”, said David Collins, publisher.  “My predecessor, Russ Cannon, did an outstanding job of setting up this winning team”, he said.