As journalists we don’t often take time to savor our work. There’s always another story to write, another deadline to hit, another product to get out the door. Preparing entries for the INA contest each fall provides an opportunity to take a moment to look over the body of work we have done in a…

We’re getting down to the wire. The deadline to submit entries for the Better Newspaper Contests is Friday, October 16. All entries must be submitted and uploaded to the betternewspapercontest.com website by 4:30 p.m.; hard-copy examples must be postmarked on or before October 16. In past years, many entries were submitted in the 1-2 hours…

What a year! Wait — it’s only September. To say the least, 2020 has been a challenge for newspapers. We crossed boundaries we didn’t even know existed. We discovered how to do business without a handshake. Has everything been a bed of roses? Absolutely not. Truthfully, we are still getting poked by thorns each day. …

We love contest time! Another deadline is tough to add in the early fall when literally everything about running a newspaper feels full bore. But it offers an opportunity to review our work, take pride in it, and consider all we can be doing better for the next time around. Something we just can’t do…

The Better Newspaper Awards for us are not just about the plaques and certificates we receive. They’re a reflection of our hard work from the year before and encouragement to continue to be a reliable, relatable community newspaper.  These awards not only provide validation to our staff but show our readers that we are providing…

Jeff Grant, editor of the Sheldon N’west Iowa REVIEW, has watched the newspaper garner plenty of accolades over the years—17 Newspaper of the Year awards over the past four decades to be exact—and was kind enough to share how his team works together to choose what the newspaper will enter: The first thing we do…