The award-winning Idylllwild Town Crier was again honored for the high quality of its work this year. The National Newspaper Association’s 2013 Better Newspaper Contest recognized the Town Crier for two community-oriented stories.
News Editor J.P. Crumrine’s 10th-anniversary story about the Idyllwild School smARTS program, “Smart art: who can ask the value,” earned first place in the education category for papers with circulation less than 6,000.
“This was the complete package: solid writing, great photo accompaniment, strong layout design and placement,” noted the judges.
In addition, Marshall Smith’s June 2012 coverage of the construction of the playground at the Idyllwild Community Center site, “Hundreds work to complete playground,” merited an honorable mention in the feature category. He was also recognized in the state-level 2012 Better Newspapers Contest for “Prostate cancer survivors favor the PSA test.”
“The Town Crier is annually recognized by its peers as producing quality work. The community should be proud to have an award-winning newspaper that also looks out for its best interests,” said Publisher-Editor Becky Clark.
This not the first time the Town Crier has garnered national best story recognition. In 2002, the paper had the best environmental story. Just three years ago, NNA bestowed a second place on the Town Crier for its community service efforts following the December 2008 snowstorm, the resulting damage within the community and the uncoordinated governmental and private corporate responses to that disaster.
