Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Congratulations to Jenna Weisenburger of Jenna Lee Photography on receiving her first TWO awards in photojournalism. This capture, which appeared in the May 14, 2018 edition, earned a second place in a very competitive sports photo category.
Each year the North Dakota Newspaper Association (NDNA) Better Newspaper Contest recognizes exceptional work in advertising, news, photography and overall design in newspapers throughout the state.
In the mid-size weekly division, the "New Rockford Transcript" received a total of 16 awards in the contest, some in all three major categories: Advertising, News and Photography. The awards were presented at a joint convention of the NDNA and South Dakota Newspaper Association on May 31 in Medora.
Big wins for the newspaper's entire staff included first place in Overall Design Excellence and first place for best website, http://www.newrockfordtranscript.com
Local photographer Jenna Weisenburger earned her first two awards in the contest. Her capture "You're outta there!" of an SNR baseball game earned second place in the sports photo category. She also received an honorable mention in the pictorial photo category for her senior class photo at Prom 2018, A Night in the Stars. That photo was featured on the front page of the April 16 issue.
From March 26 to May 14, the Transcript published several articles surrounding issues faced by youth in the community, starting with the results of the bi-annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey as shared by the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District. The series of articles about bullying, suicide and the school's Kindness Club, written by Amy Wobbema, Rachel Brazil and then sixth grader Lora Wobbema earned a first place award for Reporting Series.
Amy Wobbema and Ashley Schuster each earned a first place award in the Advertising category. Wobbema's ad for the North American Bison, LLC's retail meat sales, "Great Grilling," earned first place in food ads, and Schuster's advertisement for the Eagles Club's Annual Stick Horse Calcutta was the favorite in the Entertainment/Liquor Ad category. Schuster received third place in single ad for the same Stick Horse Calcutta ad. She also garnered a third place award for the Community Credit Union's "Money Talks" ad in financial and honorable mention in vehicle ads for Halvorson Auto's "Winter Wheels" ad in the Winterfest edition.
Other awards in the News category included second place in spot news for the coverage of Crystal Herman's sentencing for her role in the murder of Amanda Engst on May 14. Schuster took home the second place award in the infographics category for her Cash & Carry Lumber timeline in the June 11 edition. The team also received third place in infographics for the Youth Risk Behavior Survey results statistics. Wobbema's front page picture story on the July 8 severe storm damage in the July 14 paper received the third place picture story award. That same picture story also earned an honorable mention in front page design. The Transcript staff's Summer Exploration series featuring local youth throughout last summer received third place for a Feature Series.
Also at the convention Publisher Amy Wobbema was elected to a two-year term on the NDNA's Board of Directors. Amy Dalrymple, newly promoted editor of the Bismarck Tribune, filled the second open seat.
Karen Speidel, editor of the Hankinson News Monitor, has been elected president. Matt Von Pinnon, editor of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, and Cecile Wehrman of Journal Publishing in Crosby and Tioga were elected first and second vice president, respectively.
Continuing on the NDNA board are Cole Short, publisher of the Hillsboro Banner, and Chris Slone, group editor for Country Media's southwest North Dakota newspapers in Bowman, Hettinger, New England and Killdeer, as well as it's paper in Baker, Mont.
