The Record received three first place awards for two news articles and an editorial as well as two honorable mentions for design by the Michigan Press Association.
The 150 year-old organization recognized The Record at its annual convention in Lansing last week.
Each year the organization judges entries from its 320 member newspapers across the state in its Better Newspaper Contest.
Receiving first place in the Government/Education News Category of the Class C Weekly Division was a series of stories that began with the article titled “Bruce Township Clerk Susan Brockmann facing drunken driving charges.”
The series chronicled Brockmann’s charges of drunken driving in the Bruce Township Hall parking lot at 3 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 where she also struck a Michigan State Police patrol car and tripped the township hall’s security alarm.
The series followed Brockmann as she made her way through the judicial system where she was eventually convicted of so-called “super drunk driving.”
The series ended with Brockmann’s sentence of 10 months probation, a $450 fine and 25 hours of community service.
The primary writer on the series was Larry Sobczak with contributions by Stacy Sobotka.
Brockmann’s drunken driving story was originally broken by The Record and it was later covered by many daily newspapers across the state as well as several television stations.
The judges commented:
“Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. Its first loyalty is to its citizens. Journalism must serve as an independent monitor of power. These are three of the 10 principles of journalism that are published in Bill Kovach’s and Tom Rosenstiel’s Elements of Journalism text. If they were ever to do a reprint of that text, I would encourage both gentlemen to include your work. Excellent job of seeking the truth, of being loyal to your citizens, and for serving as an independent monitor of power. You did not cower in fear, you stood your ground, and I salute you for it!”
The Record also received first place for an editorial written about the Bruce Township Board of Trustees banning the newspaper from the township hall.
On March 15, 2017, the board voted 4-1 to prohibit The Record from leaving copies of the newspaper at a table in the hallway of the township hall that had a sign hanging above it titled “Bruce Township Free Library.”
Only Bruce Township Treasurer Deborah Obrecht voted against the resolution.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, both Bruce Township Supervisor Richard Cory and Brockmann had asked the newspaper to stop publishing news about Brockmann’s drunken driving charges and both Cory and Brockmann had asked the newspaper to stop leaving copies at the township.
The editorial was written to describe to the situation to readers and to reassure readers that it would not be bullied out of keeping the public informed about government officials.
The editorial was written by publisher Larry Sobczak.
The judges wrote:
“A well-worded account of local officials trying to discredit “the media” and a strong reaffirmation of the newspaper’s role in the community. This isn’t a new issue for newspapers but seems particularly timely given the national attention news media were receiving, and continue to receive, from critics decrying their centuries-old role.”
The Record also received a first place in the business/agriculture news category for an article titled “Strawberry crop survives harsh winter.”
The article written for the June 21, 2017 edition updated the condition of the strawberry crop after a sudden severe cold snap at the beginning of the winter, high winds in the early spring which removed protective mulch and an unusual hard freeze in May.
The article was written by Larry Sobczak.
The judges wrote:
“This was a very well written news story. Compared to other news stories in this category, the writer of this article showed the impact of the late frost and its impact on the growing season and the local economy. Job well done!”
The Record received honorable mentions for the 2017 Community Guide and for the design of the Sept. 7, 2016 edition.
Lyn Baxter, Christopher Rose, Larry Sobczak and Jan Wyllie put the community guide together.
The judges wrote the following about the community guide:
“Very well organized. Liked the photos. This one would have done better, but there were just so many stand-out entries in this category!”
The newspaper design that received honorable mention was designed by Lyn Baxter and the photograph mentioned in the judge’s comments was taken by local photographer Mike Nicley.
The judges wrote:
“Nice use of dominant image on the front page, one that has a very clean presentation.”
Most of the entries are available to view online at: http://www.myrecordnewspaper.com/?tag=2017-mpa-better-newspaper-contest
