The Ville Platte Gazette’s staff took home a total of seven awards at the Mississippi Press Association/Louisiana Press Association’s Better Newspaper Competition for 2017.
This year’s competition was judged by Arkansas Press Association and featured editorial contests that ranged from news story writing to graphic design.
A total of 50 newspapers, publications, and college and university student newspapers submitted 1,391 entries. Awards were given in individual contests for first, second, and third places.
During a banquet in New Orleans Saturday The Gazette staff received awards for Best Investigative Reporting (Gibbs Adams Award), Best Sports Story, Best News Story, Best Single Editorial, Best Regular Column (Sam Hanna Award), Best News Photo, and Best Feature Story.
The staff’s earnings consisted of two first place awards, two second place awards, and three third place awards.
Staff members receiving awards were Managing Editor Elizabeth West, Associate Editor Tony Marks, and Sports Editor Tracey Jagneaux.
West received a total of four awards during this years banquet, which included first place for Best Investigative Reporting (Gibbs Adams Award), second place for Best News Photo, second place for Best Regular Column (Sam Hanna Award), and third place for Best News Story. The story that won West her first place for Best Investigative Reporting was about the report of a possible burglary the night DeJuan Guillory was shot by an Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Deputy. West’s photo from a March for Justice for DeJuan Guillory earned her second for Best News Photo, while her columns about her supportive co-workers and from when she became managing editor at The Gazette earned her second for Best Regular Column. Her third place award for Best News Story was a story written to explain to the public why DeJuan Guillory was out of jail when the altercation between he and an EPSO deputy occurred last July.
Marks, who competed in the LPA competition for the first time this year, earned third place for Best Feature Story for a story he wrote about an individual who authored a book about a conspiracy that ties the JFK assassination to Evangeline Parish. The associate editor was also awarded third place for Best Single Editorial for a piece he wrote about his good friend J.L. Brignac when he passed away.
The final award for The Gazette went to Tracey Jagneaux in the category of Best Sports Story. Jagneaux was awarded first place for his article on former Sacred Heart coach, Dutton Wall.
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By: ELIZABETH WEST Managing Editor