T-PT wins 6th LPA Newspaper of the Year

The Tri-Parish Times & Business News earned the Louisiana Press Association’s Newspaper of the Year award Saturday, winning top honors in its division for both editorial and advertising competition.

The Tri-Parish Times competed against 12 other publication – 10 of which are daily newspapers – with an average weekly circulation of 5,001 to 14,000. This is the sixth consecutive year that newspaper has received this honor.

Also garnering top honors at the 133rd convention in Baton Rouge were The Advocate, Baton Rouge; the American Press, Lake Charles; the L’Observateur, LaPlace; and the Zachary Plainsman-News.

Seventy-four newspapers, publications and college/university study newspapers submitted 3,561 entries.

“Our team has always been committed to quality journalism, and the recognition the LPA has bestowed upon them is well deserved,” said Darrin Guidry, publisher of the Tri-Parish Times.

Listed are the Tri-Parish Times’ awards:

First Place

• Best Sports Column – Casey Gisclair, Casey’s Corner

• Best Overall Sports Coverage – Casey Gisclair

• Best Lifestyle Coverage – Eric Besson, Gumbo

• Best News Coverage

• Most Effective Use of a Graphic Design on a Single Page – Alyson Showalter and Shell Armstrong, It’s Not Easy Being Green

• Best Photo Package – Staff, Isaac Aftermath

• Multiple Advertiser Page – Alyson Showalter, Hurricane Tracking

• Best Special Section, Advertising – Hurricane Guide

• Editorial Sweepstakes

• Advertising Sweepstakes

Second Place

• Best News Story – John DeSantis, Not Enough Crab

• Best Sports Story – Casey Gisclair, Hoskins’ Balancing Act

• Most Effective Use of Graphic Design on a Single Page – Alyson Showalter and Casey Gisclair, Wanted

• Best Headline – Shell Armstrong, Can You Hear Me Now

• Best Feature Photo – Claudette Olivier, Shelter Cat

• Staff-Generated Black-and-White – Alyson Showalter, Get Tanked

• Staff-Generated Color – Alyson Showalter, Doug’s Refrigeration

• Best Ad Campaign – Alyson Showalter, YMCA’s Athletic Animals

• In-Paper Promotion – Alyson Showalter, Election Guide

• Best Classified Section – Alyson Showalter

• Best Special Section, Advertising – Alyson Showalter, Oil and Gas

Third Place

• Best Front Page – Shell Armstrong, Sinking Dreams

• Best Front Page – Shell Armstrong, Whew

• Best Editorial Page – Shell Armstrong, Opinion

• Best Sports Story – Casey Gisclair, Ross Mullooly feature

• Best Regular Column – John DeSantis, Gumbo and Cooking

• Best Continuing Coverage of a Single News Event – Mike Nixon, Eric Besson and John DeSantis, Chabert Sale

• Most Effective Use of a Graphic Design on a Single Page – Alyson Showalter and Casey Gisclair, Donkey Kong

• Best Special Section, Editorial – Staff, Oil & Gas

• General Excellence – Staff

Honorable Mention

• Best News Story – Mike Nixon, Shaken Baby Aftermath

• Best Sports Photo – Casey Gisclair, Hoops the HLB Way

In the 2012 individual contribution, contributor Howard J. Castay Jr. swept the individual featuring writing category, winning first, second and third place awards. He also earned first- and second-place honors in the individual feature color photo category.

“A lone weekly competing against the state’s dailies, we knew the LPA competition would be a tough challenge,” Executive Editor Shell Armstrong said. “It’s a testament to the long hours and hard work our staff puts in to ensure Tri-parish readers a solid product they can trust. At the end of the day, it’s really all about serving our readers.”