Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Journal Times Entry Title: June 5, 2022; June 19, 2022; Aug. 23, 2022 Entry Credit: The Journal Times The Journal Times Judge Comment: June 5: Lead package offers a lot of entry points for the reader, and the page has quite a few otherwise as well. That being said, there isn't much in the way of a lead photo to draw the eye in to a specific story or package to get the reader started. There's an awful lot of photo space used by the teasers in the masthead, and the overall result is a front page that is probably just a little too busy. Writing is good throughout.
June 19: Lead package is really nice. The story is heartwarming, and the photos are both nice shots and played well on the page. The bottom story quote headline definitely gets my attention. The bottom story photo is a bit too small. It would have been better to have a more up-close picture if it had to run at this size. Good focus on local coverage.
Aug. 23: Lead package is well put together and just a heartbreaking story. The photos and the info box really help to tell the story. The other story on the is a well-written piece of crime/courts news. Masthead teaser area is a bit too busy.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: The Post-Crescent Entry Title: Sept. 5, 2021; Nov. 21, 2021; May 22, 2022 Entry Credit: Staff Staff Judge Comment: Sept. 5-6: Lots of good entry points on your page. Lead story is very well-designed, and it's a story that definitely makes the reader want to read it. Pairing the employee shortage story with a refer to your employment guide is a good choice. Bottom photo not really worth using at that size. A more up-close shot that could illustrate the story would have been better.
May 22: Lead package is really well-done, both in terms of the story and how it is packaged and illustrated. Using old clippings as your lead art is very clever, and the headline treatment is also nice. The nuclear energy plant story is decent as well.
Nov. 21: Lead package is nice design and done tastefully in proportion to the gut-wrenching story that it features. The headline definitely gets the idea across when coupled with the photo illustration. The only downside is that it's not something that was produced locally, so that is unfortunate. The criminal justice system story is good, but the headline is probably one quote headline too many on the page. And the photo with that story is played so small that one can't make out any faces or expressions of the people pictured. If the photo is going to run this small, it really needs to be a more up-close shot.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: The Freeman Entry Title: July 1, 2022; July 16 2022; July 23, 2022 Entry Credit: Shana Duffy Judge Comment: July 1: Overall a nice page with lots of local news. Main package is interesting and look really nice. The use of the smaller photos works well to showcase some of the business' work. Good on you to have some hard news at the top of the page. For the Heinen photo, I think a closer crop might have worked better to show his face and the plaque better. You wouldn't lose much by cutting him off near the waist and filling your frame a little better. Bottom headline could afford to have that second line a little more filled in. As is, it doesn't match the look of the rest of the page with all that white space in just that one spot.
July 16: Page looks pretty good. I wonder if the more statewise news at the top of the page would have been better below some of your local content. Local stories are well-written. Local centerpiece is nice given the art you are working with. Having a little better art on the page altogether would have been nice. The top photo is so small for a skyline shot that it isn't all that readable.
July 23: Nice mix of hard news and feature news. Front looks nice, but some larger photo play for the lead picture wouldn't have hurt. Schedule with fair story is played well and is helpful to your reader.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Gazette Entry Title: Nov. 29, 2021; Sept. 3, 2021; Aug. 22, 2022 Entry Credit: Tim Seeman , Shari Rampenthal Judge Comment: Sept. 3: Nice photos with lead package. Color choice on the screen isn't the greatest. Not sure what the point of the diamonds are other than to eat space. With the lead story, I'd like to see a mugshot of the murderer in addition to the victim. Good to see a nice mix of news that is all locally written.
Nov. 29: Once again, a lot of well-written local news, so kudos on that. Lead package is very well designed using framing and white space in a way that draws in the reader but doesn't distract them. The photos are really good as well. A nice page all-around.
Aug. 22: Lead story headline is a great example of a quote headline. The treatment is nice as well. The photo with that story is pretty boring and could have probably been used on the jump page. The lead photo package is decent, and I think if those photos could have had some better play rather than use the building shot at 3 columns wide, then the page would look nicer overall. Good use of local content along with the state story. The stories are well-written.
Competition Comment: A lot of good front page designs in this competition. A good rule of thumb for everyone would be to focus on locally produced content where possible. A little more hard news on some of these front pages would have been nice.
