Article archive / June 1, 2012
Originally published: . Volume 3, No. 10. Source pages: 1, 5.
The Psychology Times won six awards in the Louisiana Press Association’s Better Newspaper and Publication contests, announced at the Press Association’s convention, held in Marksville on May 5, 2012.
The Times earned a second place in “General Excellence,” with scores of “excellent” in both “General news quality” and “Reader appeal,” and the final rating of “good” in “Overall design.” The Times also won a second place in “Best Lifestyle Coverage,” composed of three “good” ratings.
Judges also awarded the Times a third place in “Best Front Page,” and also in “Best Continuing Coverage of a Single News Event,” with “good” ratings on all three scales in both contests.
Times cartoonist, Jake Nelson-Dooley was awarded first place and second place in “Best Editorial Cartoon” for Division C. Ratings were “good,” “good,” and “fair,” across the scales.
For the Times’ Freedom of Information entry regarding the reversal of Opinion #012, judges rated the Times as “excellent” for “Importance of the issue,” and “good” in both “Role publication played” and “Impact on preserving FOI.” The Times entry was displayed along with the Baton Rouge Advocate and Monroe News-Star at the Awards Banquet.
The Press Association acknowledged the winner, the Baton Rouge Advocate, for its efforts to make public the secrecy in selection processes in the office of the mayor.
The Freedom of Information award was in part established by the late Gordon Nelson, owner and publisher of the Coushatta Citizen, and father of the Times publisher, Julie Nelson.
The Press Association represents more than 110 daily and weekly newspapers across the state. The Baton Rouge Advocate was the top award winner among the large daily newspapers. Editors from the Georgia Press Association judged the competition for this year.
The Times competed in the Free Circulation and Special Interest category for editorial contests, in Division C for its cartoonist, and across all divisions in the Freedom of Information contest.
The Times also competed in contests for columns and features, and received feedback that its articles were too long, judges warning that “readers lose interest.” One judge commented that a feature article had a weak beginning, saying, “Don’t start with a history lesson,” he or she wrote.
One judge praised the Times news reporting efforts, noting, “The Psychology Times knows its audience and it kept that audience well informed …” And also that the Times “… explained clearly what was proposed, why it was proposed …”
“The coverage armed interested parties with consistently good information they could use …,” wrote the judge.
Some judges noted that the layout in the digital format resulted in a “choppy” presentation, pointing to the why readers have to frequently jump pages.
Bob Holeman (L), Julie Nelson, and Mike Dooley at recent press convention in Marksville, La.
Psychology Times cartoonist, Jake Nelson-Dooley, took a first place for “Best Editorial Cartoon,” Division C, at the 132nd Annual Convention of the Louisiana Press Association. The first place was for his rendering of “The Dual Nature of the Psychology Times” (right, below). Above: He visits the Pensacola Zoo in 2012, with daughter Samantha (“Sam”) alap.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.