Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Barron News-Shield Entry Title: Shooting of police officers Emily Breidenbach and Hunter Scheel Entry Credit: Staff Judge Comment: Excellent job at putting human faces on what could have been a routine reporting job. Profiles on both of the fallen officers and the shooter, and the spouse of a previous officer killed in the line of duty explaining how to care and support the grieving families are wonderful touches. Quite a few angles were pulled together. The main bar at points felt a touch static to me, but the sidebars allowed the tragedy to really touch the heart.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: The Globe Entry Title: "Safe and Sound" Entry Credit: Jason Juno Judge Comment: Well-written, gripping, "real people" story. The quotes, the descriptions, the details – solid. That main photo is great, too.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Grant County Herald Independent Entry Title: River flooding 2023 Entry Credit: David Timmerman Judge Comment: Clear writing. Good mix of official sources and "real people." Telling photos. Story and sidebars show both tragedy and triumph.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Chetek Alert Entry Title: Communities mourn loss of officers; Fallen officers honored heroes at funeral ceremony Entry Credit: Kenton Troutman Judge Comment: The standout to me is the piece with numerous people giving first-person accounts of their relationships with the victims. I would have preferred that that story been highlighted even more. Good use of just the facts and poignant sidebars.
Competition Comment: Stories break and newspapers are there to tell them. When writers can give you the cold facts, the so-what AND the heart, the storytelling excels. These entries are a testament to that.
