The Gillespie Area News took best small weekly. General Excellence prizes recognize newspapers in four circulation divisions for work published on two randomly selected dates. Large dailies vie only for General Excellence citations. Honors came at the SIEA's spring meeting at Giant City State Park Lodge near Makanda. It took firsts in local news, makeup and graphics, editorial page and sports.
Newspapers also compete in five open categories.
The newspaper produced more than 100 news stories and 20 editorials on the project. The SIEA Better newspaper contest features two competitions, one in which member papers are judged for content in two editions published during the contest year, the other where they may submit entries on their own. Large dailies compete only for the General Excellence award. The two dates chosen are the same for all papers. Member papers compete against each other regardless of circulation figures in the open competition.