People Newspapers Wins 10 National Newspaper Association Awards
It was another busy news year in 2021, and the work put in to cover the Park Cities and Preston Hollow communities was evident in the 10 awards People Newspapers won for editorial content and advertising.
The National Newspaper Association recently announced the award winners.
Editor William Taylor applauded his colleagues and other contributors to the papers for the recognition from their peers in the industry.
“I’m proud of the People Newspapers team and the ways we serve our customers in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow,” Taylor said. “I’m thankful our colleagues with the National Newspapers Association have again recognized our efforts.”
There were 1,333 entries in the Better Newspaper Editorial Contest and 228 entries in the Better Newspaper Advertising Contest for a total of 1,561 entries. There were 586 awards won by 92 newspapers in 40 states.
Judging was performed primarily by active community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals.
Park Cities People received third place in the General Excellence category with judges writing, “stylish monthly for upscale Texas Community has a style of its own with comprehensive feature, real estate, and lifestyle coverage, great use of branded content, special sections and well-designed ads.”
Our 2021 STEAM section also won praise, picking up second place in the Best Special News, Sports, or Feature Section category.
“Great concept. Really easy to navigate, fun layout, insightful news,” judges wrote.
Former Digital Editor (and current Senior Online Editor for our sister publication D Magazine) Bethany Erickson garnered second place in the Best Use of Social Media for Breaking News category for social media coverage of the February 2021 winter storm.
Deputy Editor Rachel Snyder received third place in the Best Breaking News Story category for her coverage of the kerfuffle that resulted after police removed a North Texas politician’s daughter after she refused to wear a mask at Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
Columnist Michele Valdez, writer of the Confessions of a Mad Housewife column, won third place in the Best Humorous Column Category for her piece ‘Stick to What You Know’ published in June 2021, with judges commenting, “certainly a column of originality and well written.”
Art and Production Director Melanie Thornton received third place in the Best Informational Graphic category for the guide to neighborhood schools published in Real Estate Quarterly in the August 2021 issue.
Snyder and Erickson tied for honorable mention in the Community Service Award category for their efforts to livestream Highland Park ISD’s school board meetings. Judges wrote, “this publication stepped in where the local government and elected officials failed to serve the community’s needs. The sheer number of engaged citizens who watched their livestreams clearly demonstrates that their efforts were necessary and have been appreciated.”
Preston Hollow People also garnered two second-place advertising awards – Best Classified Section and Best Multiple Advertiser Section – while Park Cities People got an Honorable Mention in the Best Use of Ad Color Category.
Winners will be recognized at the awards ceremony held Oct. 8, during NNAF’s 136th annual Convention and Trade Show in San Francisco.
