Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Oshkosh Northwestern Entry Title: Milwaukee Bucks G League team 'no longer wants to work with' Oshkosh Arena owners, may look to get out of lease Entry Credit: Justin Marville Judge Comment: At first blush, the casual reader might think this is a sports story; it’s not. It’s a business story — and it’s exceptionally well-structured. The first few graphs spell out the problem and by the fifth graph you get the underscore: The owners of the arena have filed for bankruptcy “while facing litigation.” The details that follow simply flesh out the “rest of the story.” Sports story? Not at all. Great work.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Daily Tribune Entry Title: After 16 years, Pittsville fire chief and students see unsafe lighter idea signed into law Entry Credit: Karen Madden Judge Comment: This is how to start a story: in the first five graphs you get the people, the problem, the context and the resolution — and then the “rest of the story.” Had me hooked. And for this same reporter to have been there at the beginning and at the end is a rarity indeed. Congratulations.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: EagleHerald Entry Title: Helfert found guilty Entry Credit: Dan Kitkowski Judge Comment: This is a classic news lede: all the facts in the first graph, including insight into the officer (“a once trusted and respected sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer”). I would’ve moved info about the sentencing date and potential penalty to the third graph. Nitpicking.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: EagleHerald Entry Title: Resolute Rebounds Entry Credit: Dan Kitkowski Judge Comment: It wasn’t the cleanest lede, but by the time you get to the third graph, you get the emotion — which is a cornerstone of this piece. I’m going to assume you know your community well, since you didn’t go into any details about the “rebound” until much later in the story. (The sixth graph only says: “Since that time — thanks to sweat and tears — Resolute Forest Products has been on a steady road to recovery.”) The extensive quotes were great, albeit a bit exhausting; I might’ve summarized some of the factual stuff and concentrated on the human stuff. I also would have moved the section about “What caused the fire?” further up in the story. But this is ALL nitpicking. Great job about an important story in town.
