INA Convention Newspaper staffs enjoy industry convention
The newspapers made the news as industry professionals across the state attended the annual Iowa Newspaper Association Convention and Trade Show.
The three-day convention kicked off on Wednesday, February 6 with a legislative meet-and-greet where reporters and legislators from across the state met with each other to socialize in a rare non-work setting.
On Thursday, the convention really began as newspaper staff flocked to the Des Moines Marriott for an afternoon of educational panels that encompassed different aspects of the industry. The panels continued on Friday, concluding the convention with an award banquet for the winners of the Better Newspaper Contest.
The convention was a learning experience for Mid- America Publishing’s President, Pam DeVries. Though DeVries has been with the company for a long time, this is her first year as company president and first time attending the INA convention.
“I enjoyed it,” said DeVries, who spent the convention listening to speakers talk about editorial practices, online presence, and the importance of the First Amendment.
“It was really inspiring considering the job that we all have to do, providing information to our readers,” said DeVries.
DeVries brought several Mid-America Publishing employees with her to the convention this year, each there to network with their contemporaries and learn about their specific area of the newspaper industry, from news writing to design to advertising.
“At the trade show you can talk with all the exhibitors and see if they have any new information for us,” said graphic designer Monica Edeker. “We learned a lot about how to use our programs to speed up production.”
Beyond job specific advice, the various programming offered encouragement of a philosophy that can be applied to any aspect of daily life.
“The message was that we can do anything we set our minds to, but we have to work to get where we are” said Edeker.
“I was very happy that I got to go,” said Bethany Carson, editor of the Butler County Tribune Journal and Clarksville Star. “It’s a good experience. You learn things and talk with a lot of interesting people.”
At the various panels, Carson partook in discussions about community journalism, lede writing, and how to write award winning stories, a topic she’s become familiar with as her work placed for several awards during this year’s INA contest, including agricultural and business coverage, special sections, editorial, education coverage and best news story.
Carson was far from the only Mid-America Publishing employee to earn recognition. Mid-America Publishing newspapers were recognized across the board for advertising, news coverage, design, photography, and more.
“We got a nice pile of awards at our table,” said Carson. “It’s kind of neat to see what everybody did.”
Of particular note, Rob Maharry of the Eldora newspapers received the Harrison “Skip” Weber Investigative Reporting Award for his work reporting on the environmental impact of large scale farming.
“I was very proud of Rob,” said DeVries. “I know he worked hard to gather the facts and present them to the public. It was a big honor for him.”
Whether earned individually or for a paper as a whole, the awards are treated as an accomplishment for the entire company.
“It’s not just one person, It’s a whole team. I’m just incredibly proud of our staff,” said DeVries. “I think the awards, while they’re named for one person or paper, reflects on the entire team that we have.”
Full List of INA Awards:
Harrison “Skip” Weber Investigative Reporting
Robert Maharry
General Excellence
Weekly I
Third Place- Clarksville Star
Best Editorial Page
Weekly I
First Place - Sheffield Press
Best Front Page
Weekly I
Second Place- Rockwell Pioneer Enterprise
Best Feature Page
Weekly I
Third Place Sheffield Press
Coverage of Gov’t and Politics
Weekly I
First Place- Clarksville Star
Third Place – Butler County Tribune
Weekly III
Second Place – Grundy Register
Coverage of Education
Weekly I
First Place – Eagle Grove Eagle
Third Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal
Coverage of Agriculture
Weekly I
First Place – Clarksville Star
Weekly II
Second Place – Graphic Advocate
Coverage of Business
Weekly I
First Place – Clarksville Star
Coverage of Court & Crime
Weekly I
Third Place- Sigourney News Review
Best Special Section – Editorial
Weekly I
First Place – Clarksville Star
Best Headline Writing
Weekly I
First Place – Sheffield Press
Weekly III
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle
Best use of Graphics
Weekly I
First Place – Sheffield Press
Weekly III
Second Place – Hampton Chronicle
Best News Story
Weekly I
Third Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson
Weekly II
Third Place – Buffalo Center Tribune – Andrew Shaw
Best Personality Feature Story
Weekly II
First Place – Garner Leader - Curran McLaughlin
Best Sports Story
Weekly II
Second Place – Parkersburg Eclipse News-Review – Jake Ryder
Best Sports Feature
Weekly I
Second Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Kristi Nixon
Best Series
Weekly I
Third Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson
Best News Photo
Weekly I
Third Place – Clarksville Star – Chris Barragy
Best Breaking News Photo
Weekly III
First Place – Ida Grove Ida County Courier – Amy Forbes
Best News Feature Photo
Weekly III
Second Place – Clear Lake Mirror Reporter – Chris Barragy
Advertising Best Ad Featuring Grocery, Food or Entertainment
Weekly I
First Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning – Booze & Dues
Weekly II
First Place – Graphic Advocate- Toni Venteicher, Danielle Potkonak - Burds St. Patrick’s Day
Second Place - Garner Leader -Tayna Beyer- Job at 18
Weekly III
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Monica Edeker – Best ad Feature Grocery: Fareway
Advertising Best Ad Featuring Financial, Insurance or Other Professional Service
Weekly II
Third Place – Graphic Advocate – Toni Venteicher, Dannielle Potkonak – Calhourn County Veteran’s Affairs
Advertising Best Ad Featuring Automotive, Boats, Aircraft, Tires, Gasoline, Etc
Weekly II
First Place – Graphic Advocate – Toni Venteicher, Monica Edeker – Champion Anniversary
Weekly III
Second Place – Grundy Center Register – Clint Poock, Tanya Beyer – Big Finish 2017
Best Ad Featuring Miscellaneous
Weekly I
Second Place – Holstein Advance – Becky Bruning – Tigers, Wolves, Bears and Webelos Oh My!
Weekly II
Third Place – Eldora Hardin Co. Index – Fourth of July Salute
Advertising Best Special Section Advertising
Weekly I
Second Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning- Ho-Ho-Hometown Holidays
Weekly II
First Place – Parkersburg Eclipse-News-Review – Dave Vallery and Danielle Potkonak – Butler County Visitor’s Guide
Advertising Best Ad Series or Campaign Featuring Any Service or Merchandise Category
Weekly III
First Place – Ida Grove Ida County Courier – Toni Venteicher, Jenny Seuentjens – Johnson’s Propane
Advertising Best Ad Idea for a Community Promotion or Event
Weekly I
First Place – New Sharon Sun – Amie Van Patten, Tanya Beyer – Southern Iowa Fair & Exposition
Weekly III
First Place – Hampton Chronicle – Pia Hovenga, Monica Edeker – Franklin County Visitor’s Guide
Advertising Best Ad Designer
Weekly I
Second Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning
Weekly II
First Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Monica Edeker
Best of Class Advertising
Weekly I
First Place – New Sharon Sun – Southern Iowa Fair & Exposition
Weekly II
First Place – Parkersburg Eclipse – News – Review – Butler County Visitor’s Guide
Third Place – Lake City Graphic Advocate – Champion Anniversary
Weekly III
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Franklin County Visitor’s Guide