The Flathead Beacon was named the best weekly newspaper in the state at the Montana Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. The awards were handed out Saturday night at the association’s 131st annual banquet in Whitefish.
In total, the Beacon took home 30 awards and 15 first-place plaques, including General Excellence, Best Overall Website, and the Thomas Dimsdale Award for Best Weekly Newspaper. The Beacon’s quarterly magazine, Flathead Living, won Best Niche Publication.
The Billings Gazette won the Sam Gilluly Award for Best Daily Newspaper in Montana.
Next year the conference is in Lewistown.
FIRST PLACE AWARDS
Thomas Dimsdale Award for Best Weekly Newspaper
General Excellence
Best Niche Publication – Flathead Living
Best Overall Website – FlatheadBeacon.com
Best Sports Story – Dillon Tabish, “Brains & Brawn”
Best Feature Story – Justin Franz, “The Legend on the Lake”
Best Lifestyle Coverage – Justin Franz, “Rebuilding a Nation”
Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award – Molly Priddy, “Valley of the Dogs”
Best Enterprise Journalism – Dillon Tabish, “The Watchmen in the Wilderness”
Best Column Writing – Rob Breeding
Best Headline Writing – Tristan Scott
Best Page Layout and Design – Steve Larson
Best News Photo – Greg Lindstrom
Best Image Building Ad – Sharilyn Fairweather
Best Newspaper Promotional Ad – Sharilyn Fairweather
SECOND PLACE AWARDS
Best News Story – Tristan Scott, “Promises to Reopen ‘a Sham’”
Best Feature Story – Tristan Scott, “In a Class of His Own”
Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award – Justin Franz, “A Race Against Time”
Best Enterprise Journalism – Tristan Scott, “Shadow of a Doubt”
Best Front Page Design – Steve Larson
Best Page Layout and Design – Steve Larson
Best Sports Photo – Greg Lindstrom
Best Niche Publication – Flathead Living
THIRD PLACE AWARDS
Best Sports Story – Molly Priddy, “Taylor-Made Black Belt”
Best Feature Story – Molly Priddy, “Fading Away”
Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award – Dillon Tabish, “The Underwater Frontier”
Best Page Layout and Design – Steve Larson
Best Feature Photo – Greg Lindstrom
Best Combination of Print and Online Ad – Steve Larson
Best Newspaper Special Section – Sharilyn Fairweather