Courier Herald news team wins 13 awards in GPA Better Newspaper Contest

The Courier Herald’s writing, photojournalism and production was again recognized as some of the state’s best in this year’s Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. 

Winners in the annual competition, highlighting outstanding coverage by member publications, were announced last Friday during the GPA convention on Jekyll Island. 

Members of the newspaper’s Dublin staff scored a dozen awards for their work throughout 2023, and collectively helped it win a 13th with a placement of third in the overall general excellence category. The Courier Herald competes in the contest’s next-to-largest Division B, which is made up of daily publications with a total circulation of 7,999 or less. 

“This is what our newsroom does, and they do it well,” said general manager Pam Burney. “These awards confirm what we already know, and make us even prouder of our great news team.” 

Staff writers Kyle Dominy and Rodney Manley, sports editor Clay Reynolds and senior reporter Payton Towns III each brought home individual recognitions, while two other awards, and the third for overall standing, went to the staff as a whole. 

Cumulatively, the accolades positioned The Courier Herald in a tie with the Athens Banner-Herald for third in general excellence, a count of total points for awards across the contest. The Valdosta Daily Times took home first in Division B, and The Rome News-Tribune was runner-up. 

This is The Courier Herald’s first time placing in the overall tally since 1985. 

“The general excellence award demonstrates that our newsroom is among the best in Georgia,” said DuBose Porter, executive director of the Georgia Trust for Local News. “The variety and span of the awards this year, from columns to magazines to special sections, is what community journalism is all about. Our folks here, and their special talents, are among the best in journalism.” 

Awards on the part of the entire staff recognized the 2023 edition of “Discover Dublin” as third-best magazine product among all daily papers, and the fall Porter’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing in Middle Georgia as runner-up in the top special sections from Division B. 

The eclectic edition of Discover Dublin, released in early fall, showcased a variety of the Emerald City’s hidden and/or overlooked gems like the magical masterpieces of local stained glass artists, the revival of a former cotton mill-turned-downtown condominium by a pair of local renovators and the homemade goodness of Rosie’s Ice Cream. 

Additional stories in the 84-page ‘zine, excluding two others that were acknowledged with their own awards, highlighted offerings of the Laurens County Library and the 75th anniversary of the local health care and economic cornerstone that is the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center. 

“Content is well rounded with a mix of history and today along with cool things to do and eat,” a contest evaluator wrote in comments. “This gives me a great vision of visiting Dublin. The ads are abundant and diverse… Overall strong magazine!” 

Judges emphasized the strong reader interest and usefulness of content in the fall Porter’s Guide, which looked ahead to the upcoming deer season with a cover story profiling bow hunter Chad Devaney and a rundown of need-to-knows for those counting down to opening day, as well as back on some good catches for many readers that shared snapshots from their summer fishing adventures. 

“The articles, recipes and photos in this hunting and fishing guide were very educational and entertaining, along with the 2023-24 season dates and information for the various species,” the judge wrote. “Outstanding special section!” 

Towns’ pair of awards were both first-place plaques commending his work with the camera. 

He snapped the winning spot news photo Oct. 5 at the scene of a Terrace Drive house fire that he stumbled upon by following a fire truck on the way back to the office from lunch. The image was described as “a good action photo with the fire fighters working hard to put out the fire.”  

Judges also tabbed his May 6 photographic package entitled “Waddle in the Park” – depicting a gaggle of geese crossing the pond, then road, at Southern Pines Regional Park – as the first-place photo essay.

“This makes me smile,” they wrote in comments. “I love the fact that someone took the time to photograph this progression of events, and that the community paper was willing to feature it. You captured something few take the time to witness.” 

Dominy received second place in the magazine human interest story category with “Redemption Song,” a profile in Discover Dublin detailing Ron Hankins’ inspiring journey from felon to five-star chef. 

But most noteworthy among his collection of honors this year will be a first-ever BNC award – and a top prize, no less – for his long-running column “The New Southern Dad.” 

A collection of 2023 entries, regarded by judges as “Fun and engaging” and “a breath of fresh air,” secured him the prestigious Otis A. Brumby Trophy for best serious column, and beat out some work from many of Georgia’s leading wordsmiths to do it. 

Submissions from the two largest divisions in the category were folded together into a super group pitting Dominy against competitors from the state’s largest publications (including Marietta Daily Journal heavyweight Dick Yarbrough, who was runner-up in this particular race, though winner in the humorous column department), placing him among the best of the best with the first-place finish. 

His winning submission was headlined by heartfelt June 17 Father’s Day tribute, “A story of fathers and their fathers.” Accompanying columns included a set of “Practical tips for manhood,” appearing Feb. 4, and some assorted thoughts on procrastination that appeared April 29.

Manley kept a several-year streak of BNC awards alive with his pair of third-place medals, in spot news photography and breaking news writing. 

The spot photo entry was a Dec. 7 snapshot of an East Dublin car fire that showed a firefighter spraying down the smoldering shell of a burnt-out sedan. The scene was applauded for its “good detail.” 

His three-part breaking news entry, marked by “Strong, solid writing” in the words of judges, was led by a late June report on the investigation that followed authorities’ discovery of a missing man’s dead body outside a relative’s residence near East Dublin. 

A pair of other stories detailed hot-button issues coming before the Laurens County Board of Commissioners early in the year: A  rejected proposal to build a downtown hotel in the county’s parking lot and a spat between the commission and the local Board of Assessors over delays to a commercial tax revaluation in March.  

Reynolds’ 2023 Heart of Georgia Football preview section was noted among the top special issues in the division for a third-straight year, this time clinching the No. 1 spot for a first time by narrowly beating out the Porter’s Guide as an in-house contender. 

The area high school football outlook, one of the Sports Desk’s largest and most complete ever, provided readers an in-depth rundown of key players and storylines for all 14 teams in its 10-county coverage area entering the fall. 

“This football preview special section included pertinent photographs and informative articles with headlines that highlighted something important and relevant to the success of each team along with the players to watch and game schedules,” the judge wrote. “Excellent!” 

Reynolds’ writing, across both the sports and feature departments, was also cited with one second- and two third-place awards. 

He was runner-up in the sports coverage category with an entry of three game recaps, which chronicled the long-anticipated home rematch of Dublin’s 2006 state championship football game against Charlton County in late September, May GIAA semifinal victories for both of Trinity Christian’s soccer squads and the clinching win over Trinity-Sharpsburg for the West Laurens fastpitch softball team that clinched the defending state champions a spot among the GHSA’s final eight in Columbus for a fourth-straight season. 

“Very comprehensive coverage of multiple games in deadline fashion,” a judge wrote. “Well-written and easy to read with good quotes and photos to support. Great job.” 

His bundle of entries placing third in sports feature writing, noted for its “strong writing style throughout,” included an August spotlight of the new “Big Ugly Sports” podcast on its one-year anniversary, a story highlighting an upcoming FCA mission trip to Brazil for an East Laurens coaching couple and a December piece on the launch of brand-new bass fishing teams at both East and West Laurens high schools. 

“Meals on Wheels,” Reynolds’ spread in Discover Dublin looking into the trends behind Dublin’s recent food truck explosion and profiling each of the community’s six most established mobile restaurants, also received third for best magazine story among entrants in the daily division. 

“Meals on Wheels was a well researched and reported look at food truck culture in Dublin,” judges wrote. “I’m still laughing at how ‘Shuga Nickels’ got its name.” 

Additional kudos go out to the staff of several sister newspapers in the Georgia Trust for Local News that were also honored with Better Newspaper Contest awards from the weekend: 

• Houston Home Journal sports editor Clay Brown and managing editor Brieanna Smith both brought home third-place recognitions in Division C, Brown for sports feature writing and Smith for enterprise reporting. 

• Johnny Kuykendall, publisher of Manchester’s Star-Mercury Vindicator, was awarded third in Division D for local news coverage. 

• Brandy Ledbetter, of the Times Journal Post, won the Joe Parham Trophy for best humorous column in Division E for a second-straight year. 

• Fort Valley’s Leader-Tribune also netted five awards in the GPA’s advertising contest, including first places for full-color, non-traditional, small-page and signature page entries. 

“We have a special team from throughout our newspapers, and these awards demonstrate just that,” Porter said.