Cleaver Once Again Receives MPA Award

Wes Smith, Michigan Press Association Past-President and Group Publisher of View Newspaper Group

The annual Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest gives our members a chance each year to assess and put forth their team’s best work in journalism, photojournalism, column writing, graphic design and advertising. After the judges have reviewed the thousands of submissions and made their decisions, awards will be given, bragging rights established and perhaps a few toasts made to the winners. It is a rare moment in our profession where we allow ourselves to reflect and experience something akin to satisfaction for a job well done. Anyone in this business today is in it, not for kudos, but because of a passion and desire to serve our readers, our advertisers and our communities. For us the work is the reward. But on the occasion of MPA BNC contest awards, let’s take a moment to say to all our coworkers and all our colleagues, good job! And to the winners — Congratulations!”

By ANGELA KELLOGG-HENRY

Cleaver Managing Editor

The Michigan Press Association recently announced the winners of its annual Better Newspaper Contest. According to MPA, members of the Wisconsin Press Association reviewed 2,928 entries submitted by 93 Michigan newspapers/Individual members this year.

The Cleaver submitted a half dozen articles and several photos to the contest. We are pleased that Megan Barron, Cleaver guest writer, has won 3^rd place in the Feature Story category with her article titled “Miracle Creates Miracle for Herself, Others Struggling with Addiction” from our May 9, 2024, publication. There were 31 entries in that category for the Weekly Class D – 3,000 circulation and under.

“I’m truly honored to receive this recognition for a story that means so much to me,” Barron said. “Writing about people’s journeys, like this incredible woman’s triumph over addiction and her mission to uplift others, is what fuels my love for storytelling. There’s so much heart and resilience in our communities, and being able to preserve and share these stories is a privilege I cherish deeply.”

The Michigan Press Association has named six Capital News Service reporters as winners in its college newspaper competition for stories published in 2024:

Feature Story:  Kelsey Lester, 1^st place for “A tale of a haunted lighthouse: Seul Choix Point’s spirits” and Alex Waters, 2^nd place for “Researchers pioneer method to combat swimmer’s itch by relocating ducks”

Best Writer: 2nd place, Theo Scheer

Investigative Reporting: Ruth Thornton and Victor Woodell, 2^nd place for “In conservative Livingston County, suburbia and Trump country collide”

News Story: Liz Nass, 3^rd place for “Proposed homeschooling registration sparks”

Capital News Service is a wire service based out of the Michigan State University School of Journalism. It provides weekly stories to member publications of which the Cleaver contributes each year to be a member.

Congratulations, Megan! Thank you for writing for the Cleaver and bringing quality stories to our readers.