A pat on the back for a job well done is appreciated most anywhere, and the Forest Park Review is no different. Though we don’t roll out of bed in the morning thinking of ways to score accolades at annual conventions, the Review fared well, again, this year at the Illinois Press Association’s “Best of the Press” event held in Springfield.
“Year after year the Review places among the top small weeklies in Illinois,” publisher Dan Haley said. “We’re proud of this paper and the positive role it plays in Forest Park. Nine awards this year. Five of them tops in their category.”
According to a panel of judges, this year representatives from the press association in Missouri, this community’s weekly newspaper sets the standard for excellence in several areas, and among papers with a similar circulation, is one of the top papers in the state. It’s an accomplishment that we are proud of, but more importantly, we hope that our readers take pride in as well. The recognition from our peers in the newspaper industry is a meaningful affirmation of the work we do, but the work that we do is, first and foremost, for our readers.
At this year’s convention the Review took home the following:
-
First Place – original column, Bill Dwyer
-
First Place – newspaper design, editorial design staff
-
First Place – local editorial, Josh Adams
-
First Place- news reporting (series), Josh Adams
-
First Place – personality portrait, Frank Pinc (above)
-
Second Place – editorial page, Josh Adams and Becky Lomax
-
Second Place – personality portrait, Frank Pinc
-
Second Place – enterprise/feature writing, Josh Adams
-
Third Place – photo series, Frank Pinc
“Sure we take some criticism,” Haley said. “Some is deserved. Mostly, though, our critics wish our news coverage wasn’t so strong, our editorial page so clear. A community newspaper which never has detractors wouldn’t be much of a newspaper.”
