Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Pajaronian Entry Title: The Pajaronian General Excellence 2022 Entry Credit: Staff Judge Comment: A complete local report, from news to sports to features to opinion. I commend the variety of content that shows a community connection. The strong A1 presence, aided especially by photos and headline writing, plus the teasers, are the difference between first and second place. Strong, sharp local advertising, as well. The local readers are getting their money's worth here.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: St. Helena Star Entry Title: St Helena Star Entry Credit: St Helena Star Staff Judge Comment: Hit the trifecta here: Great photography, solid local reporting and sharp advertising. A nice, clean Lee Enterprises design. Opinion page isn't just a national filler, which happens too often. Good work across the board!
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: The Westside Express Entry Title: General Excellence Entry Credit: Gene Lieb Judge Comment: Very local! And the heavy use of photos tells me there's a connection to the community and a presence in it. Good spot news reporting, nice sports coverage. Bonus points for publishing contact info for elected officials -- that's a service to readers that too many newspapers miss. Solid local journalism.
Competition Comment: Really neat to read and see such dedicated local reporting and photography! It was not easy to narrow to three winners -- very competitive.
