The Statesboro Herald won 20 awards in the 2012 Georgia Associated Press Awards contest, including Story and Photo of the Year. The awards were announced Saturday in Macon during the AP’s annual awards luncheon.
The Herald competed in Class A for newspapers with daily circulation under 10,000. There were 16 newspapers eligible in Class A and the Herald won more awards than any other paper in the division. Contest entries were judged in March by members of the Ohio Associated Press.
“The recognition of our work by fellow journalists certainly is rewarding,” said James Healy, operations manager for the Herald. “We look forward to continue giving our readers a product that provides insight, entertainment and information in print and online they can’t get anywhere else.”
The Herald earned eight first place awards in the entry categories of Deadline Reporting, Business Writing, Sports Writing, Editorial Writing, Spot News Photo, Feature Photo, Picture Story and Best Website.
The paper also earned second place in Deadline Reporting, Non-Deadline Reporting, Sports Writing, Spot News Photo, Sports Action Photo, Sports Feature Photo, Photo Portfolio and Picture Story and third place in Feature Writing, Deadline Reporting and Photo Portfolio.
Herald business editor Jan Moore received a first place in Business Writing for her story about how local farmers were concerned that changes in Georgia immigration laws would negatively impact their businesses.
Judges also selected Moore’s report as “Story of the Year” among all news entries in the 2012 contest.
Herald reporter Holli Deal Bragg won first place in the Deadline Reporting category for her stories about the tragic deaths of four members of the Davis family in a house fire and how friends coped with the stunning loss.
Bragg also earned second place in Non-Deadline Reporting for her story about a daycare center that closed after it was discovered a 4-year-old had escaped from the facility.
For Sports Writing, former Herald sports editor Matt Yogus earned first and second place awards. Yogus' story about the Georgia Southern football team’s “Forgotten season” in 1982 won first place, while his report on the tragic death of a Georgia Southern golfer and the reaction from teammates earned second place.
Herald operations manager James Healy won first place in the Editorial Writing category for a commentary about how Statesboro City Council member Gary Lewis did not deserve re-election. Healy also earned third place in the Deadline Reporting category for a story about the state supreme court ruling the state charter schools commission was unconstitutional and third in Photo Portfolio for a series of 10 pictures.
For the third year in a row, Herald photographer Scott Bryant earned eight photo awards. His three first place awards included photos of friends grieving after a deadly fire in the Spot News category; a Georgia Southern public safety officer with a monkey on her head in Feature Photo; and a series of photos looking back at the Kiwanis Rodeo in the Picture Story category.
Also, Bryant’s feature photo of the Georgia Southern officer dealing with a curious and friendly monkey was selected as “Photo of the Year” in Class A among all photo entries submitted in the 2012 contest. It was the third year in a row that one of Bryant’s photos was picked as Photo of the Year.
The Herald’s website – statesboroherald.com – earned first place in the Best Website category – the first year the category was part of the AP contest.
Herald writer Al Hackle’s story about how a prison was using Shakespeare in a class for inmates won third place in the Feature Writing category.