The staff of The Pine Belt News put on another powerhouse performance at the 158th annual meeting of the Mississippi Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, bringing home a total of 45 awards between the company’s editorial and advertising divisions.
That includes first place in the General Excellence award – which is given to the best organization in a given class – for the editorial division and second place in that award for the advertising division. This year marks the third year in a row the paper has won that honor.
The total number of awards amount to 18 first place ( 13 in editorial and 5 in advertising), 14 second place (eight in editorial and six in advertising), 11 third place (eight in editorial and three in advertising) and two honorable mentions in editorial.
“I could not be prouder of the staff and contributors of this newspaper,” said Christina Pierce, publisher of The Pine Belt News and Signature Magazine, which are distributed by Hattiesburg Publishing. “To win the General Excellence award, naming us the best of our class, for three years running is a testament to our determination to be the best source of local journalism in Forrest and Lamar counties.”
This year’s MPA conference was held from June 27-29 at the Golden Nugget Casino. The Better Newspaper Contest is held semi-annually to recognize excellence in news content and advertising.
Each spring and fall, newspaper professionals from sister press associations convene to judge entries submitted by Mississippi newspapers.
The Pine Belt News’ haul of awards for this year is as follows:
Honorable Mention awards
- In-depth Investigative Coverage: Haskel Burns, Mar-Jac Investigation
- Magazine Periodical: Signature Magazine
Third Place awards
- Spot News Story: Petal High baseball, softball fields to be improved with anonymous $735K donation
- Planned Series: Haskel Burns, Lamar County solar farm
- Sports Feature Photograph: Jesse Johnson, Warrior cap off incredible playoff run
- Sports Feature Photograph: Andrew Abadie, Senior shooting guard Malik Walker goes up for a dunk
- Feature Photograph: Abigail Smith, Go Young Fashions Model
- Personality Portrait: Cayla Camp Burns, From California to Hattiesburg
- Front Page: The Pine Belt News
- Headline: Crystal Gordon
- Editorial Special Edition: Crystal Gordon and Abigail Smith, Health Matters
- Magazine Ad – Healthcare: Abigail Smith, Oak Grove Family Dentistry
- Magazine: Crystal Gordon, Abigail Smith and Sandra Buckley: Signature Magazine
Second Place awards
- Sports Column: Andrew Abadie
- Game Story: Andrew Abadie, Lumberton upsets Oak Grove to win Lamar County tournament
- General Interest Column: Clark Hicks
- General News Photograph: Cayla Camp Burns, Judge rules in favor of Hattiesburg for ownership of historic locomotive
- Sports Feature Photograph, Michael Sandoz, Auburn Regional champs
- Feature Photograph: Abigail Smith, Hattiesburg Tigers player
- Sports Page or Section: The Pine Belt News advertising
- Magazine Periodical: The Pine Belt News, Pine Belt Sports: The Magazine
- Editorial Special Edition: Crystal Gordon and Abigail Smith, Pine Belt Seniors
- Ad Series: Crystal Gordon and Abigail Smith, Swatches
- Magazine Ad – Retail: Abigail Smith, Bliss Bridal
- Magazine Ad – Grocery or Restaurant: Abigail Smith, Joe Rocco’s Pizzeria
- General Excellence: The Pine Belt News
- Magazine: Crystal Gordon, Abigail Smith and Andrew Abadie: Pine Belt Sports – The Magazine
First Place awards
- Spot News Story: Haskel Burns, Community mourns loss of Tommy King
- In-Depth Investigative Coverage: Haskel Burns, Forrest County residents not satisfied with answers from MDHS on welfare fees
- General Excellence: Staff, The Pine Belt News editorial
- General Interest Column: Elijah Jones
- Commentary Column: Elijah Jones
- Sports Feature Photograph: Abigail Smith, Sumrall’s Avery Smith
- Feature Photograph: Rob Walker, Pecan Pie Martini
- Pictorial Series: Jesse Johnson, The drought is over
- Best News Package: Andrew Abadie, Jesse Johnson and Crystal Gordon, Hattiesburg basketball championship
- Personality Portrait: Andrew Abadie, Southern Miss women’s basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis
- Editorial Page or Section: The Pine Belt News
- Editorial Special Section: Crystal Gordon and Abigail Smith, Here’s Hattiesburg
- Ad Series: Crystal Gordon and Abigail Smith, Advanced Hearing and Balance
- Magazine Ad – Retail: Abigail Smith, Magnolia Soap Co.
- Magazine Ad – Institutional, Financial or Service: Abigail Smith, PureVita Spa
- Magazine Ad – Grocery or Restaurant: Crystal Gordon, Fuji Yama Hibachi and Sushi
