Cascadia Daily News took home 10 awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association 2022 Better Newspaper Contest, with only material published in March 2022 eligible for entry.
The contest evaluated content published in print between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, organizing the awards into four groups based on a publication’s circulation.
CDN printed its first edition on March 2, 2022, meaning just 29 days of content could be submitted to the contest. Categories ranged from design to news and sports coverage to photography, and, this year, submissions were adjudicated by the South Dakota Press Association.
“As a new organization, it’s an honor to be recognized by our peers for a broad range of our work. It inspires us to keep evolving and improving the way we serve our community,” CDN Executive Editor Ron Judd said.
Digital editor Jaya Flanary placed first in the Business Feature category for “Jack’s BBQ opens on State Street” and the Sports Page Design category for “One step from the top”; and photojournalist/education reporter Hailey Hoffman placed first in the Online Photo Essay category for “The Betties are breaking hearts and body parts” and first in the General News Photo category “Ukrainian-American children at the Peace Arch.”
Government reporter Ralph Schwartz placed second in the News Story, Long category for “No easy fixes to Bellingham’s car-theft problem”; former intern Kai Uyehara placed second in the Social Issue Story category for “72-hour parking lot rule hits home to homeless”; Hoffman placed second for the Color Portrait Photo category for “72-hour parking lot rule hits home to homeless”; and former sports reporter Hailey Palmer placed second in the Sports News Story category for “Stump’s jumper steals state title.”
Hoffman placed third in the General News Photo category for “Washington bulb company workers unionize”; and environmental reporter Julia Lerner placed third in the Business News Story category for “Intalco restart hampered by federal statutes.”
Newly joined sports editor Connor J. Benintendi and summer and fall intern Nolan Baker each earned awards for work completed at other local publications. Benintendi earned third place in Sportswriter of the Year; first place in the Sports Feature category for “A surreal experience” (Lynden Tribune); second place in the Sports Page Design category for “Triple Crown Town” (Lynden Tribune) and second place in the Sports Feature category for “Lynden says goodbye to Jerry Kok” (Lynden Tribune).
Baker earned third place in the Environmental Story category for “Nooksack River adjudication is likely” (The Northern Light).
Several Whatcom County papers took home significant awards including the Lynden Tribune (third-place General Excellence), and The Northern Light (first-place Ad of the Year).
Judd said CDN has an exciting year ahead of it.
“In the coming year, we’re expanding our staff and focus to produce even more purely local enterprise news, features and visuals,” he said.
