Standard named best in state for third straight year

Reporter Duane Sherrill holds the Standard’s plaque for best newspaper in the state.

DICKSON — For the third straight year, the Southern Standard has been honored as the state’s best newspaper in the large, non-daily division.

The presentation came Friday afternoon at the Tennessee Press Association’s annual awards banquet. Joining the Standard as winners in the other three divisions are The Chattanooga Times Free Press (large daily), Murfreesboro’s The Daily News Journal (small daily), and the Chester County Independent (small non-daily).

In claiming top honors, the Standard captured first-place awards for sports, best single editorial, public service and best special section. The newspaper finished second in make-up and appearance and also grabbed awards in other noteworthy categories such as general excellence and feature writing.

“To win this award three years in a row clearly shows the strength of our newspaper,” said editor James Clark. “When you look at our paper as a whole and evaluate everything from photographs to news stories to sports coverage, the Standard publishes a product that’s second to none.”

The Tennessee Press Association gives awards in 18 different categories ranging from best humor column to best feature photo. The top six finishers in each category are awarded points, with first place getting six points, second place earning five, on down to sixth place, which earns one point.

Points from all 18 categories are tallied to determine a newspaper’s final score. The Standard finished with 39 total points, well ahead of Lenoir City’s The News-Herald which finished second with 24 points.

The Standard’s four first-place awards were second only to The Times Free Press, which grabbed five. The Tennessean also earned four first-place awards.