The Durango Herald took 31 press awards at this year’s Top of the Rockies journalism contest – more than any other Colorado publication – which included awards in photography, news writing, editorial writing and page design.
The contest was sponsored by the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and included media outlets in four states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Herald competed with at least 27 other media outlets in the large newsroom category.
The newspaper won first-place awards for illustration, feature page design, editorial cartoons, humor columns, news photography and feature writing.
“Herald reporters, photographers and editors do good work which we all appreciate, but that wouldn’t be possible without readers and advertisers who believe in the value of a local newspaper and who support it,” said Richard G. Ballantine, chair of the Herald’s board of directors.
Other publications in the large newsroom category included 5280, Boulder Daily Camera, Denver Business Journal, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Jackson Hole News&Guide, Longmont Times-Call, Loveland Reporter-Herald, Rocky Mountain PBS, Searchlight New Mexico, among others.
Other big winners included The Colorado Sun with 29 awards, Denver Gazette with 27 awards, and Yellow Scene Magazine and Boulder Reporting Lab each with 18 awards.
The Southern Ute Drum, a biweekly community newspaper owned by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, won 13 press awards in the medium-size newsroom category, including five first-place awards.
The Top of the Rockies recognized stories, photos and other editorial content published during the 2023 calendar year. It does not cover advertising submissions.
The Herald awards include:
Ag and Environment: Feature: “Seeding a sustainable future,” about Ute Mountain Ute Farm and Ranch using its water allocation to prepare for a dry future, by Reuben Schafir, first place.
Spot News Photography/Videography: “Family car crash,” depicting the aftermath of a serious car crash, by Jerry McBride, first place.
“A dramatic rescue after a horrendous car crash,” a judge wrote. “The one frame captures it all in a perfectly composed shot.”
Illustration: “Our View: Tyre Nichols: His death changes policing,” an illustration with accompanying editorial on the killing of a 29-year-old Black man at the hands of Memphis police officers, by Ann Marie Swan (writer) and Wes Rowell (illustrator), first place.
“Illustration that easily gets the point across,” a judge wrote.
Feature Page Design: “Bridging Generations,” a section front in Arts & Entertainment depicting the game of bridge, by Katie Chicklinski-Cahill, first place.
Column Personal/Humor: “My View: An open letter to Bigfoot – Come back,” a humorous take on a bigfoot sighting near Silverton, by Swan, first place.
Editorial Cartoons: A series of opinion/political-based cartoons by Rowell, first place.
“This editorial cartoonist definitely gets his point across. Well done!” a judge wrote.
Sports: Columns: “Why is there no shot clock in CO preps hoops?” about the lack of a shot clock in high school sports, by Bryce Kelly, second place.
Social Justice Reporting: “Durango's most-ticketed woman, who's unhoused, rolls with punches,” about a woman who had been ticketed 88 times for petty offenses with few consequences, by Shane Benjamin, second place.
Single Page Design: “Feed Me Seymour,” a section front in Arts & Entertainment about the “Little Shop of Horrors” high school musical, by Chicklinski-Cahill, second place.
Politics: News: “Opponents: Little change with Boebert out,” about the immediate reaction to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert announcing she would seek election in a different congressional district, by Schafir, second place.
Legal: News: “Pagosa Springs man arrested in connection with U.S. Capitol riots,” plus “Clive Kincaid recounts events leading up to, during Jan. 6 Capitol riots,” recounting a Pagosa Springs man’s personal account of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, by Benjamin, second place.
Legal: Feature: “It's not their fault, yet domestic violence survivors face most of the consequences,” marking October as domestic violence awareness month, by Benjamin, second place.
Health: News: “Mercy Hospital ends female sterilization services,” about Mercy Hospital’s decision to stop providing the reproductive health procedure, by Christian Burney, second place.
Health: Feature: “Mercy Billing: Seeing double,” about some patients receiving bills that their insurance providers had already paid, by Schafir, second place.
Front Page Design: “Battle of the Booze,” a front-page design having to do with small liquor stores calling out large chain grocery stores for selling alcohol at or below cost, by Chicklinski-Cahill, second place.
Features: Short form: “End of emergency funds hits SNAP recipients in La Plata County,” about a decrease in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits following the COVID-19 pandemic, by Schafir, second place.
Feature Page Design: “Music fans: Think you know The Cure?” a section front in Arts & Entertainment about the author of a book having to do with the history of English rock band The Cure, by Chicklinski-Cahill, second place.
Column Personal/Humor: For a collection of columns from Ann Marie Swan and Bill Roberts, second place.
Business: News: “Customers share problematic stories about Durango Nissan car dealership,” about the sudden closure of the Durango Nissan car dealership, Tyler Brown, second place.
Best Solutions Journalism: “Durango's most-ticketed woman, who's unhoused, rolls with punches,” about a woman who had been ticketed 88 times for petty offenses with few consequences, by Benjamin, second place.
Beat Reporting: For coverage of La Plata County government and the environment, by Schafir, second place.
Spot News Photography/Videography: “Kitten Rescued,” showing firefighters rescuing a kitten from the storm drains in Three Springs subdivision, by McBride, third place.
Sports: Columns: “Parents need to stop berating referees,” a column about parents becoming more aggressive toward referees at youth sporting events, by Kelly, third place.
Science and Technology: Feature: “Is fingerprinting still a worthwhile crime-solving tool?” about whether fingerprinting still has a place in law enforcement investigations given the advent of DNA testing, by Benjamin, third place.
Politics: Feature: “Prop HH's impact in Southwest Colorado,” about a complicated ballot initiative and what impact it would have on property taxes, education funding and state tax refunds, by Schafir, third place.
News Photography/Videography: “Officer Moran Candlelight vigil,” for photos of a candlelight vigil remembrance for Cortez Police Department Officer Michael Moran, by McBride, third place.
Multimedia Story: “Unhoused campers try to find their place in and around Durango,” with photos and a video of unhoused residents as they get confronted by code enforcement, by McBride, third place.
Mental Health: Feature: “A long journey series,” for a series of stories about an addiction epidemic and the lack of an inpatient treatment center in Southwest Colorado, by Schafir, third place.
Legal: Feature: “They were caught with 66 pounds of meth – why were they offered probation?” about two people who were stopped with 66 pounds of methamphetamine in their car yet were being offered probation in the criminal justice system, by Schafir, third place.
Editorials: For a series of editorials written by Swan and Ballantine, third place.
Business: Enterprise Reporting: “Former employees accuse Lone Spur Cafe CEO of poor business practices,” about employees who accused the restaurants in Durango and Prescott, Arizona, of failing to pay them and unsafe restaurant conditions, Brown, third place.
