Highlander wins four Texas Press Association Awards
The Highlander claimed four awards in the annual Texas Press Association Better Newspaper Contest at Saturday's Texas Press Association summer meeting in Montgomery County near Houston.
Managing Editor Lew K. Cohn, office manager Kim Green and staff member Glynis Crawford Smith won second place in news photography for a team entry of five photographs which showed the staff's ability to cover a diverse group of subjects.
Judges praised the variety of The Highlander's submission, which included a Horseshoe Bay fire, last year's Bertram train derailment, a photo from the Marble Falls rodeo, a photo from a fatal accident last year on Ranch to Market Road 1431 and two youngsters protesting Asphalt Inc.'s proposed rock crushing plant.
Cohn won third place in Editorial Writing for editorials about the need for changes to Texas 71 in the wake of several deadly accidents and praise for the fine arts programs at Marble Falls High School and Marble Falls Middle School.
“Important topics to address,” the judges wrote. “Well written and argued.”
Cohn also finished fourth in Column Writing for humor columns about the We're Related phone app and as well as a recap of “a night in the life.”
“Entertaining. A satirical spoof on what society considers trendy,” the judges said of the first column.
Smith and sports editor Richard Zowie shared a third-place finish in Feature Writing for a story about Granite Shoals centenarian Evelyn Turner and a film shoot at Burnet's Fort Croghan.
“Nicely weaved story with the proclamation,” judges wrote about the Turner story. “She looks so spirited in the photo with her son — which makes me want to meet them; hear their stories of globetrotting and in particular her relationship with the Lord.”
This caps a successful awards season for The Highlander, which also won seven awards in April at the South Texas Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.
In the South Texas contest, Green and Smith shared first place in news photography, while Smith and publisher Frank Shubert shared first place in feature photography.
“Great job on getting to the scene quickly, great coverage spot news. Good exposure and framing,” judges wrote of the news photography entries.
“Great job on filling the frame with action, exposure spot on. Color brings faces to life,” the judges wrote of the feature photography entries.
Zowie won second place in feature writing for his Fort Croghan film feature, while Cohn won third place in humorous column writing and honorable mention in both news writing and editorial writing. The Highlander also received honorable mention for page design.
“Fun story about 'Hollywood' coming to town. Great detail on Parker's experience and family history,” the judges wrote about Zowie's feature. “I like that you included info about previous film made in town — good background that rounded out the story.”
