Tribune-Gazette, Press Star take home 28 WNA awards total

The New London Press Star and Clintonville Tribune-Gazette the each received more than a dozen Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards in the 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.

The Press Star was recognized with 15 WNA awards. Five were first place awards.

The Tribune-Gazette garnered 13 WNA awards. Three were for first place.

The awards were announced at the WNA banquet in Madison on Friday, Feb. 26.

Both local publications competed against weekly newspapers with a circulation up to 2,000.

Press Star awards
Reporter John Faucher received two first place awards. He won a first place award in the Spot News category for a photo he took of a pick-up truck that had rolled into the Wolf River. He also received a first place award in the Best Ongoing/Extended Coverage category for his ongoing coverage of the quest for a New London veterans memorial.

Press Star Editor Bert Lehman received a first place award in the Feature category for his series of stories about the RISE Together presentation held at New London High School in 2015.

Reporter Scott Bellile received a first place award in the General News Photo with a photo he took of a child in a police car at the Policemen Are Heroes Too event in Hortonville in July.

A first place award was also received in the Best Multiple Advertiser Spread for the Gilberts grand opening page.

The 2015 New London Area Chamber of Commerce Directory & Community Guide received a second place award in the Best Niche Publication-Out of Paper category.

Faucher received a second place award in the Feature Photo category with a photo of a kid kissing a fish. He also received a second place award in the Breaking News Coverage category with his coverage of the substation fire that took place in New London.

The paper received third place awards in the All-Around Newspaper Photography and Front Page categories.

The paper’s Class of 2015 insert received an honorable mention for Best Advertising Special Section.

Faucher received an honorable mention in the General News Photo category with a photo he took at the Warrior Princess Mud Run.

Nette Niebur received an honorable mention in the Best Advertising Sales Tool category.

Other honorable mentions were for Online Revenue Builder and Best Multiple Advertiser Spread.

Tribune-Gazette awards
The Tribune-Gazette received a first place for: All-Around Newspaper Photography, Front Page, and Special Section-Editorial. The first place for Special Section-Editorial was for the 2015 Football Preview insert.

The paper received a second place award in the Best Multiple Advertiser Spread for the Clintonville Motors grand opening page. The 2015 Firemen’s Festival insert received a second place award for Best Advertising Special Section.

Tribune-Gazette editor Bert Lehman received a second place award for Best Ongoing/Extended Coverage for his reporting on the Greg Rose recall effort and recall election.

Jeff Hoffman received a second place award in the Spot News Photo category for a photo he took at a barn fire.

Lehman also received third place awards in the Feature Photo and General News Photo categories. The feature photo was of the kids’ water fights at the Firemen’s Festival, while the general news photo was of the construction of the foundation at the History House in Clintonville.

Full Throttle magazine also received a third place award in the Best Niche Publication-Out of Paper category.

The Tribune-Gazette received three honorable mentions. The 2015 Dining Guide received an honorable mention in the Best Niche Publication-In Paper category.

Lehman and Hoffman received a honorable mention in the Breaking News Coverage category for their coverage of Christus Church being locked down because of an armed citizen.

Lehman also received a honorable mention in the Open Records/FOI Award category for his coverage of former city attorney Tim Schmid filing a suit against the city of Clintonville.

Robert Cloud, editor of the Waupaca County Post, also received a Golden Gavel Certificate of Commendation award.

“We are proud of the work the staffs from the Press Star and Tribune-Gazette have produced over the course of 2015. We feel it is a privilege to serve the communities of Clintonville, New London and Hortonville and are thrilled to be judged as the state’s best in many areas,” said Pat Wood, publisher of the Press Star and Tribune-Gazette. “We look forward to continuing our journey of excellence and hope you are enjoying our efforts along the way.”