Daily Journal receives 35 Illinois Press Association awards

The Daily Journal has once again been recognized as one of the best newspapers in Illinois.

Thursday in Bloomington, journalism professionals from across the state converged for the annual Illinois Press Association Convention, in which the Daily Journal took home 35 awards.

The newsroom (editorial) took home 19 awards while the advertising department collected 16 awards.

Submissions are judged by journalism professionals in other states. These awards were judged by the press association in Minnesota. Submissions for awards were from work from calendar year 2023.

In the mid-size daily newspaper category, The News-Gazette of Champaign was awarded the Mable S. Shaw Memorial Trophy. The Belleville News-Democrat was the runner-up, with The Daily Journal of Kankakee placing third and The Pantagraph of Bloomington placing fourth.

The Mable S. Shaw Memorial Trophy is awarded for editorial achievement to the outstanding daily newspaper in Division E. It was established in 1994 by the Illinois Press Association and contributed by the Shaw family in memory of the late publisher of The Telegraph in Dixon.

This is the third year running that Journal reporter Stephanie Markham took home an award as part of the Robert M. Cole Award for Best School Board Coverage.

<strong>EDITORIAL AWARDS</strong>

Quotes following the award are from journalists who reviewed submitted Daily Journal items for IPA consideration. These quotes were published in the Illinois Press Association Best of Press 2024.

This publication was distributed Thursday at the conference and the cover photo was by Journal Photo Editor Tiffany Blanchette, who took home first place for General News Photo for “Turmoil at the T-ball Field.”

• First place — Newspaper design, design staff — “Overall, I found this newspaper to have the best design for ease of use, graphics, and readability. The typography is well done, and photo use and graphics helped the stories visually on most pages.”

• First place — General news photo, Tiffany Blanchette (photo: <a href="https://daily-journal.com/news/local/kankakee-jaycees-little-league-returns/image_1086bb2a-f41d-11ed-bf8f-8f307c747857.html" target="_blank">“Turmoil on the T-ball field”</a>) —”Great capture … right place at the right time, the expressions remind us these are kids as much as they are ball players.”

• Second place — Localized national story, Stephanie Markham — “Student loans are complicated, important and personal. This story used lots of sources, contained good quotes and delivered information in an interesting and logical format.”

• Second place — Government beat reporting, Jeff Bonty; SAFE-T Act

• Second place — Feature writing (personality profile), Stephanie Markham and Tiffany Blanchette; <a href="https://daily-journal.com/news/citizen-spotlight-maldonado-devotes-career-to-helping-families/article_d0db1160-3869-11ee-9eb6-5bba76d6bf34.html" target="_blank">Maldonado devotes career to helping families</a>

• Second place — Original column, Taylor Leddin-McMaster; A Taylor-Made Life

• Second place — Special sections (<a href="https://daily-journal.com/lifestyles/" target="_blank">Lifestyles</a>), Taylor Leddin-McMaster, Tiffany Blanchette and Kim Carpenter — “Wonderful selection of well-written and interesting articles. The layout is pleasant and professional, with nice photography. Great job!”

• Second place — Online photo series/gallery, Tiffany Blanchette; <a href="https://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/through-the-jaycees-kankakee-continues-little-league-baseball-history/article_62c0cf7a-eeaa-11ed-b39b-db8fc7e8467b.html" target="_blank">Jaycees Little League returns</a>

• Second place — Sports photo: Portrait/personality, Tiffany Blanchette; <a href="https://www.daily-journal.com/sports/bbchs-zirbel-enjoying-monumental-run-in-the-pool/article_c133f8fc-87f7-11ee-ba4e-e739070c9ae8.html" target="_blank">Zirbel enjoying monumental run in the pool</a>

• Third place — Sports photo, Mason Schweizer: <a href="https://daily-journal.com/sports/ihsa-class-2a-girls-track-and-field-kankakee-sectional/image_12bfb46e-0d3b-11ee-a2bc-1379d85feed5.html" target="_blank">IHSA Class 2A Kankakee Girls Track and Field Kankakee Sectional</a>

• Third place — Feature writing, Stephanie Markham and Tiffany Blanchette; <a href="https://daily-journal.com/news/local/life-goes-on-mom-brother-meet-organ-recipient-10-years-after-accident/article_c6dc7e4e-fbf4-11ed-a10c-8be74c04736b.html" target="_blank">Mom, brother meet organ recipient 10 years after accident</a>: “What I loved most about Stephanie Markham’s piece is how the organ donor’s brother, Nathan, and the receiver, Maria, connected despite a tragedy.”

• Third place — Special sections (<a href="https://daily-journal.com/news/2023-football-preview-arrives/article_11086f40-41dd-11ee-8583-d357753d5093.html" target="_blank">Football tab)</a>, Mason Schweizer, Cody Smith, Kim Carpenter and Tiffany Blanchette — “Very in-depth articles with a mix of breakout boxes and great photography.”

• Third place — The Mable S. Shaw Memorial Trophy, staff

• Fourth place — Robert M. Cole Award for Best School Board Coverage, Stephanie Markham

• Fourth place — Local editorial, Chris Breach; <a href="https://daily-journal.com/opinion/merchant-street-musicfest-continues-to-shine/article_ae8abd14-30a7-11ee-929f-733795abcec9.html" target="_blank">Merchant Street MusicFest continues to shine</a>

• Fourth place — Localized national story, Stephanie Markham — Local school leaders reflect on pandemic: “Great coverage of the board and local issues. Board involvement in the issues and the community response; good quotes from multiple perspectives to provide clarity and explanation.”

• Fourth place — General news photo, Tiffany Blanchette; <a href="https://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/remembering-fallen-veterans/image_25826606-12f7-11ef-96b3-2fb4451821af.html" target="_blank">Flags for the fallen</a>

• Fourth place — Portrait/personality, Tiffany Blanchette; <a href="https://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/a-fixture-in-kankakee-perry-lee-aims-to-spread-love-peace-and-joy-with-rose/article_8c200094-2cb6-11ee-9371-bf3d7d333784.html" target="_blank">Perry "The Rose Man" Lee</a>: “Good shot.”

• Fourth place — General Excellence, staff (first place The Pantagraph, Bloomington; second place The News-Gazette, Champaign; third place The Dispatch, Moline)

<strong>ADVERTISING AWARDS</strong>

• First place — Real estate ad, Lauren Powell and Matt Ressler

• First place — Best newspaper promotion, John Fetterer and staff

• First place — Food ad, Matt Ressler and staff

• First place — Service/institutional ad, Lauren Powell and John Fetterer

• First place — Miscellaneous ad

• Second place — Automotive ad, Melissa Underwood and Matt Ressler

• Second place — Best newspaper promotion, Matt Ressler and staff

• Second place — Best annual section, Matt Ressler and staff

• Second place — Miscellaneous ad

• Second place — Best small ad

• Third place — Automotive ad, Melissa Underwood and Matt Ressler