The Eagle earns national acclaim for general excellence

The Eagle earned honorable mention for General Excellence, College Division, in the 2020 Better Newspaper Contest, a nationwide journalism competition sponsored annually by the National Newspaper Association of Pensacola, Florida.

The newspaper’s student staff learned about the award via email from NNA Executive Director Lynne Lance at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s extremely satisfying,” The Eagle Adviser Michael D. Kennedy said. “I have always been, and remain, proud of our student staff members and their commitment to journalistic excellence. This is just one more artifact that recognizes their commitment.”

The Daily Universe of Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, took first place in the General Excellence, College Division–Daily, Non-daily category. The Southwestern College Sun, Chula Vista, California, earned second and The Utah Statesman, Utah State University, Logan, finished third.

Lynne also said that six colleges and universities entered the college-level general excellence category. 

In Nebraska, The Eagle has been judged “Best in Overall Excellence” in the newspaper division for nine consecutive competitions in the Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association’s annual Golden Leaf Awards.  

The Eagle earned its first Overall Excellence award in 2011, its ninth came earlier this year in April. The association revamped its Golden Leaf Awards in 2018 and did not run its student media competition that year. 

Kennedy noted that while the NNA’s general excellence field might have been limited in the college division, the student staff entered individual categories that pitted them against working professionals nationwide.

 “That’s what I like about NNA’s contest,” he said. “Our students have a stellar record of excelling against their peers statewide. This competition has them competing against working professionals and we learned a great deal from it. Notably we have to pick up our game.”

Sponsored by the Douglas (Wyoming) Budget, The Eagle joined the National Newspaper Association in fall 2019. Competing in NNA’s Better Newspaper Contest was a next logical step to gain perspective about where The Eagle stood among its college peers and working professionals nationally, Kennedy said.     

“This was our first foray into the NNA’s competition, at least since I’ve been adviser,” Kennedy said. “To finish among the likes of larger, much larger, journalism programs like Brigham Young, Southwestern College, and Utah State, speaks volumes about our student journalists’ talents and professionalism.”

Although he’s happy with the Eagle’s achievement at the national level, he kept the newspaper’s recognition in perspective.

“We always have room for improvement, after all, we finished fourth in a six-horse race,” Kennedy said. “But really, our focus is not on winning awards. Our focus is on employing the industry’s best practices to serve our readers and to do that at the highest standard. We subscribe to the philosophy that we must focus on doing our jobs by serving our readers to the best of our ability. Do that, and the rewards will take care of themselves.”     

The NNA’s Better Newspaper Contest recognizes journalistic work by professional and college-level daily and weekly newspapers nationwide. Eligible entries must have been published between Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2019. The NNA awards first, second, and third places, and one honorable mention in each of 48 categories.

In addition to entering the General Excellence, College Division, Daily and Non-daily category, The Eagle student staff members competed against professional journalists, submitting 11 entries in categories that recognized individual achievement in news reporting, editorial writing, sports reporting, feature writing, photojournalism, and newspaper design. None of The Eagle’s student staff members placed in the individual categories.   

Each entry cost $20. The Eagle paid $240 from its advertising fund for its 12 submissions.