Ville Platte Gazette, The Basile Weekly claim awards

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Press Association announced the winners of the 2023 Better Newspaper Competition on July 19 at the Baton Rouge City Club.
Among those receiving top awards were both publications in Evangeline Parish- the Ville Platte Gazette and The Basile Weekly.
In Best Multiple Advertiser Page, Kathy Longino and Monique Ardoin earned second place for multiple homecoming ads and first place for high school wrestling. Both entries were in Basile.
For the wrestling ads, the judge commented, “This is a great series of ads focusing on the wrestling team success. Good balance of individual and business/organization ads. I might steal this idea.”
In In-Paper Promotion, Longino and Ardoin placed second for football parent ads in Basile.
Gazette editor Tony Marks earned third place in Best Feature Story on a story about Wacen Fontenot and Chris Guillory carrying on the wooded culture.
In Best Front Page, the staff of Basile placed third for entries dated April 2 and October 5, and the staff of the Gazette placed first for entries dated August 3 and October 5.
The judge commented on the Gazette’s entries, “Good work. The duty is done front page is very nicely done, especially with the editorial on the front page. You rarely do that, but this was one of those times to make that call.”
Marks earned second place in Best Headline for “Squirrely arguments” with a story on local attorney Daniel Barzare presenting a case in support of delicacy.
Marks earned first place in Best News Photo with a picture of Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser jotting down ideas while peering over Lake Chicot from the pier located near the group cabins of Chicot Park.
The judge commented, “Photographer caught this politician deep in thought. It’s an all-around good photo.”
In Best News Story, Marks placed third for a story about Mike Johnson succeeding ousted Kevin McCarthy and second for a story about the attack on Pearl Harbor being remembered 82 years later. Placing first was Basile editor Darrel LeJeune with a story about local ties to the JFK assassination conspiracy.
The judge’s comments on the winner, “Enjoyed this article. Very informative and thought provoking.”
In Best Photo Package (3 or more photos), it was a clean sweep as the staff in Basile placed third for Mardi Gras All Around, Marks placed second for Ninth Baptist celebrates anniversary and homecoming, and the Basile staff placed first for Fair Fun.
Judge’s comments on the winner were, “Photographer captured some happy faces. Good crops and bright, colorful photos.”
Placing second in Best Single Editorial was Marks with a column titled “The Marks Post: Have we forgotten?”
Former Gazette sports editor Rhett Manuel earned second place in Best Sports Column for entries titled “DYB is bigger than games and scores” and “Community values are alive, well through athletic physicals.”
The Gazette placed third in General Excellence with entries dated August 3 and August 31.
Newspaper of the Year honors went to:
Division 1: The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Advocate
Division 2: The Ruston Daily
Leader
Division 3: St. Tammany Farmer
Division 4: Pointe Coupee Banner
Division 5: Central City News
The designation for the Newspaper of the Year is based on the number of points earned in the contest, with awards being given in individual contests for first, second, and third places. The editorial contests range from news story writing to graphic design while the advertising entries were judged based on design, creativity, and effectiveness.
The Mississippi Press Association judged the 33 LPA member publications that entered the contest, along with college and university student newspapers.
“The judge’s comments are always a great window into the impressive work by our winners,” LPA Executive Director McHugh David said of the 940 entries. “It’s clear that newspaper staffs across the state are representing their communities with pride and serving them well.”
In the Freedom of Information Competition, The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate was the winner, diving into a recall petition attempt targeting New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Reporters discovered that an elected judge who approved a key legal victory for the recall campaign in a separate case had failed to disclose that she signed the petition. Her ruling had substantially lowered the threshold for a successful recall.
Days after the newspaper published its analysis, which punctured the organizers’ air of breezy optimism, election officials reached the same conclusion. They found that the campaign had collected a little over 27,000 valid signatures, which was within the margin of error of the newspaper’s estimate of approximately 28,000.
By conducting its own analysis, the newspaper short-circuited a disinformation campaign launched by recall organizers from gaining purchase in the community. Though organizers sought to cast doubt on the official count, the existence of the newspaper’s independent count kept those falsehoods from spreading.
Meanwhile, the newspaper’s legal victory made it clear that future recall efforts could face legal jeopardy for violating the law. While the lawsuit was filed against a private entity, it yielded public records that gave vital insights into one of Louisiana’s top political stories of 2023, including a judge’s possible bias. The recall campaign and public records lawsuit also factored into a discussion at the Louisiana Legislature of whether to change public records law. Louisiana’s governor cited the need for transparency when he vetoed a law to shield recall signatures from public view.