The Hollister Free Lance took home seven state journalism awards
on Saturday in a broad range of categories, including a second
place finish for General Excellence among California’s small daily
newspapers.
Hollister – The Hollister Free Lance took home seven state journalism awards on Saturday in a broad range of categories, including a second place finish for General Excellence among California’s small daily newspapers.
The Free Lance received the awards for daily newspapers with a circulation of 10,000 or less during the California Newspaper Publishers Association annual awards ceremony held Saturday at the Westin St. Francis in downtown San Francisco. Hundreds of reporters, editors and publishers from the state’s smallest to largest newspapers gathered in the Grand Ballroom to acknowledge award recipients.
“To say it’s an honor to be recognized by your peers with such a distinction would be an understatement,” Publisher Steve Staloch said. “The General Excellence award is coveted by all newspapers and, while it’s important, I see it as validation of what we do every publishing day: present our readers with the finest community newspaper possible. It’s also testament to an outstanding editorial staff, led by Editor Conan Knoll, that passionately focuses on making the Free Lance relevant in our community. As this award proves, sometimes bigger is not necessarily better.”
In addition to the General Excellence award, the Free Lance won second place in the competition for best Editorial Comment, Editorial Page, Front Page and Sports Photo. The paper’s new Lifestyle section won first place awards for Lifestyle coverage and Arts and Entertainment coverage.
“There are a lot of good community newspapers in California. It’s nice to know we are among the best,” Knoll said. “The Free Lance staff is talented and hardworking, and these awards are a testament to their ability and desire to provide the community with a lively and informative paper.”
In the last year, the Free Lance completely redesigned its look, added a daily Lifestyles section, increased reader interactivity through features like the Red and Green Phones, which allow readers a chance to ask questions about community issues, and the Community Camera, which allows local people to get their own photos in the paper.
This year’s Better Newspapers Contest drew a total of 4,500 submissions, according to Bryan Clark, CNPA’s director of member services. He said the Free Lance competed against 20 to 30 other newspapers of similar size in each of 27 categories.
“The (finalists) are a culmination of the best of the best from each newspaper,” Clark said.
The judging process for the CNPA awards lasts six months, beginning with a general round up of submissions from hundreds of newspapers across the state. After winnowing submissions to four in each category, top winners are chosen by a nine-member blue ribbon panel of judges. This year, that group included a number of California newsroom leaders as well the editor of the American Journalism Review and a former editor of the Dallas Morning News.
The Free Lance is one of several area newspapers owned by Mainstreet Media Group. The publishing company also operates the Gilroy Dispatch and Morgan Hill Times, which took home a combined 14 first and second place awards. The Dispatch took first place for General Excellence. Mainstreet’s most recent acquisition, the weekly Sunday Pinnacle, won 10 awards in weekly newspaper categories, including General Excellence for its Hollister edition.
The Free Lance began life as the Hollister Enterprise in 1873, just one year after the city incorporated and four months before disenfranchised residents of Hollister and San Juan Bautista broke away from Monterey County and formed San Benito County.
In the 132 years of its colorful past – one editor of Hollister Enterprise was shot and killed on the courthouse steps by the editor of a rival publication that later merged with the Enterprise – the paper has chronicled the entire history of San Benito County.
