COLUMBIA, MO – Saturday, The St. Louis American received a total of 30 awards for excellence in journalism, advertising, design and community service from Missouri Press Association, including its highest level of recognition, the Gold Medal award for best newspaper in its class.
Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor, said “We are deeply appreciative for these honors that reflect the talent, hard work and dedication of our staff. I want to add that we are also grateful to our community.” Suggs noted “Because our work and service at The American is only made possible because of our loyal readers, advertisers and sponsors, we thank them all.”
The awards were part of Missouri Press’ Better Newspaper Contest and were distributed at the organization’s annual convention, which was held in Columbia this year.
The 30 awards, both in individual and staff entries, tie (along with last year) for the largest number of awards The American has ever received, at one time, from Missouri Press Association, in the company’s 86-year history.
In addition, The St. Louis American won the highest state award, the Gold Medal, in the largest weekly newspaper class in Missouri, for amassing the most points for entries that were prize entries. This is the second consecutive year, and second time in its history, that The St. Louis American has garnered the Gold Medal award. (The Kansas City Star won the Gold Medal in the largest dailies category this year).
Among the many judges’ comments regarding The St. Louis American and general excellence, judges noted The St. Louis American was “everything you would want in a superior newspaper.”
The American won seven first place awards from Missouri Press, including:
- Best Editorial (Slay, Nixon take defeat differently)
- Best News Photo (Wiley Price)
- Best News or Feature Special Section (Diversity, A Business Imperative)
- Best Sports Pages
- Best Video (Rebecca Rivas)
- Best Overall Design
- Best Newspaper In Education Project (STEM)
In the Best Video category, this is the second consecutive year The St. Louis American’s Rebecca Rivas swept all four of the awards in its class. Rivas’ video (Family questions police shooting) in 2013, received the nod for first place this year. One judge stated the video “rendered me speechless in such a way that I, a non-local, even wanted answers,” and, that “the end quote brought me to tears.”
This is also the second consecutive year The St. Louis American has taken home first place honors for Best Overall Design. Judges stated “The ample white space creates a serious, quiet design personality. The typography features excellent color contrast so pages are never flat.” Judges further commented about the “good use of pullouts and decks to attract scanners,” and that “inside pages use the same design philosophy.”
After only its second year of existence, The St. Louis American’s Newspaper in Education (NIE) program received first place, statewide recognition. Judges stated that The American’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program is a “huge investment in in-paper space and other resources,” and said “kudos to quality writing to fulfill an important educational need in the community.” Earlier in September, The St. Louis American received a first place, national award for Best Newspaper And Education program by the National Newspaper Association (NNA). It was the second consecutive year The American’s NIE program has received first place national honors from the NNA.
Second place awards from Missouri Press’ Better Newspaper Contest include: General Excellence; Best News Story (Rebecca Rivas: Police under fire for harassment); Best Columnist – Humorous (Kenya Vaughn: Black & Single); Community Service; Best Editorial Pages; Best Local Business Coverage; Best Story About Religion (Wendy Todd: Gently bringing change); and Best Video (Rebecca Rivas: Tiffany Anderson returns to head Jennings Schools).
Third place awards were: Best Sports Columnist (Ishmael Sistrunk); Best Story About Education (Chris King: Fighting for social justice at Parkway); Best Coverage of Community/People/Lifestyles); Best Newspaper In Education Project (Cathy Sewell: Healthy Kids); Best Video (Rebecca Rivas: Unaccredited schools to lose $35 million); Best Headline Writing; and, Best News or Feature Obituary (Kenya Vaughn).
The American received the following Honorable Mention awards: Best Breaking News Story; Best Sports Feature Story; Best Coverage of Government; Best Story About History; Best Online Newspaper or Website; Best Video; and Best News or Feature Obituary.
So far in 2014, The St. Louis American has been the recipient of nearly 60 regional and national awards for excellence, including the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association’s Russwurm award for the Best African-American Newspaper in the Nation, an award The American has received the past three consecutive years and 10 of the last 19 years.
