For the second year in a row, the Idaho Mountain Express will be honored as one of the best non-daily newspapers in the nation.
The Missouri-based National Newspaper Association announced Wednesday that the twice-weekly newspaper had earned four awards in the association's 2008 Better Newspaper Contest, an annual competition that judges hundreds of daily and non-daily newspapers across the United States. Among the four awards is one in the General Excellence category, which rates newspapers for their news content, design and overall quality. The NNA will announce which place all of its General Excellence winners achieved at its annual convention Saturday, Sept. 27, in St. Paul, Minn.
The award for overall excellence, as were all awards presented in the 2008 Better Newspaper Contest, was presented for work done in the 2007 calendar year. The Express received an honorable mention award in the General Excellence category in last year's contest, for work done in 2006.
In most categories of the contest, the Express competed among the largest non-daily newspapers in the nation, those with a circulation of 12,000 copies or more.
At the NNA convention, the Express will also receive honors in the Community Service category, for its in-depth coverage of the Castle Rock Fire near Ketchum last summer. The fire burned nearly 50,000 acres of brush and forest over the course of three weeks.
The four awards, all of which will go to Express Publisher Pam Morris, former Editor Gregory Foley and the 2007 newspaper staff, are:
1) General Excellence, Non-daily Division, circulation 10,000 or more: Place will be announced Sept. 27. Newspapers were judged on three editions published in 2007.
2) Best Local News Coverage, Non-daily Division, circulation 10,000 or more: Third place, for news coverage in two Wednesday editions in 2007. The judges said, "Interesting and engaging stories. Gives a strong sense of the community and region."
3) Community Service Award, Non-daily Division, circulation 10,000 or more: Third place, for coverage of the Castle Rock Fire in five editions in August 2007. The judges said, "Aggressive reporting was great to see in a well-told story. Great photography."
4) Best Weekend Edition, Daily and Non-daily Division (all newspapers): Honorable mention, for two Friday editions published in 2007. The judges said, "Overall well done newspaper."
The National Newspaper Association is the largest association of newspapers in the country. The NNA Better Newspaper Contest is widely recognized as the nation's premier venue for judging community newspapers.
The four national awards follow a strong performance by the Express at the annual Idaho Press Club contest for daily and non-daily newspapers in the state. At the club's Best of 2007 awards ceremony in May, the Express won first place in the General Excellence category and collected more awards overall than any other non-daily newspaper in the state.
Pam Morris
Gregory Foley
