Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Valley Sentinel Entry Title: Resilience in the Face of Division: Why Democracy Needs Us All; Our View: We're endorsing a better future for the Village of Arena; The chaos that ensues: Where the Village of Arena goes from here Entry Credit: Valley Sentinel Judge Comment: Exceptional writing, target-focused, use of specific names/pisitions, historic references to at-hand problems provides readers a comprehensive exam of the issues addressed and action needed to resolve them. Some presumptions offered appeared speculative rather than fact-based, but added to, even aided in the editorials’ narratives and conclusions.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Courier Sentinel Entry Title: Marathon board; State needs to modernize; State school report cards Entry Credit: Brian Wilson Judge Comment: Three critical essays provide reasoned detail for that criticism related to the editorial’s focus. Good statement of purpose well written to justify conclusion: the call for action. All could have cited names of those cited public entities such as school board members, administrators responsible for the criticized acts and the suggested corrective actions.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Grant County Herald Independent Entry Title: The Flag, Remembering the Lost, Is this what America is Now? Entry Credit: David Timmerman Judge Comment: Personalized columns/editorials by the editor. First-person-voice sets the target topic, provides substantive analysis with good sourcing, and concludes with the writer’s directive. One column deserved a more descriptive and conclusive explanation, yet the narrative brought the reader to a focused conclusion.
