The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1948-04-08
News Editor Wins
Top Awards In
State Contest
Places First In
News, Editorial
And Best Paper

And Best Paper
I Miss Hazel Brannon, publisher of
The Durant News and The Lexing-
ton Advertiser, won first place for
the best news story, first place for
the best editorial, first place for the
best newspaper published in the
state by woman and second best
in feature writing, in the annual
writing contest sponsored by the
Mississippi Federation of Press Wo-
men.
Announcement Of the decision in
, the contest was made Saturday even
f, ing at dinner held in Jackson. At
tending were members of the Board
of Directors of the Federation and
the judges who were Kenneth Toler,
of The Commercial Appeal, Wilson
Minor of the New Orleans Times
Picayune, Harold Foreman of the
United Press and Carl Goblin of the
Associated Press.
The news story which won the
award was about a mass meeting
held in the Durant school in which
the Sheriff of Holmes county was
asked to resign. The judges said the
lead of the story was near perfect
with short to-the-point sentences
and showed the fearlessness of cru
sading editor" 1t was in the May %
edition of The News and The Adj
vertiser.
The editorial which won first place
in the contest was the editors per-
sonal column, Through Hazel Eyes,"
on March 8, 1947, which was written
on the death of p. II. Winborn, Jr.,
of Durant Young Winborn was in
stantly killed when his jeep in which
he was coming home from Ole Miss
was hit by a car driven by kinsman
of John Rowland Rowland had pre-
viously been acquitted by Holmes
county jury on assault and battery
with intent to kill in connection with
the shooting of Durant night mar
shall. The editorial pointed out that
had the Holmes County jury done its
full duty in the case that the man
would not have been out on the
highway (allegedly hauling liquor for
Rowland).
The judges said the editorial car
ried a terrific impact" and was a
''fine contribution to the editors
campaign for reinforcement in the
county"
Top awards in the competition will
be sent to the National Federation
of Press Women for entry in the
national contest, Mrs. w. c. Taylor
of the Mississippi Sun at Charleston
and contest chairman, announced.
Complete List
A complete list of the winners in
the various divisions of the contest
is as follows:
News story in daily newspaper:
Miss Helen Crooks of the Meridian
Star.
News story in weekly newspaper:
Miss Hazel Brannon of The Lexing-
ton Advertiser and The Durant
News, first; Mrs. Velma Taylor of
the Sun at Charleston, second, and
Mrs. Lois Anderson of The Sentinel
at Ripley, third.
Editorial in weekly newspaper:
Miss Brannon first and Mrs. Taylor
second.
Feature story in daily newspaper:
Miss Annabel Power of the Jackson
Daily News. Feature story in weekly
newspaper, Miss Blanche Wendell
| of the Columbian Progress at Column
| bia, and Miss Brannon second.
Feature in magazine or trade jour
nal, Mrs. Harry UW Hamilton More
head in the Dixie Guide of Gulfport.
Column in weekly newspaper,
Mrs. Anderson, first; Mrs Olga Reed
Pruitt of the Reporter at Holly
Springs, second, and Miss Wendell,
third.
! Advertising display in weekly
newspaper, Mrs. Taylor, first, and
Mrs, Ida c. Hamilton of the Iuka
Vidette, second.
| Toler Is A Judge
Advertising display in daily news
paper, Mrs. Annette q. b. Snider
of the Clarksdale Press.
Newspaper published or edited by
a woman, Miss Brannon, first, and
Miss Elizabeth Draughon of the Bap-
fist Record at Jackson, second.
Special edition published or edited
by woman, Mrs. Anderson, first,
and Mrs. Margaret Phillips of the
Tunica Times, second.
Publication other than newspaper
or book, Mrs. Anderson, first, and
Mrs. Taylor second.
Publicity article and poetry pub
lished in newspaper, Mrs. Pruitt,
first in both divisions.