Newspaper of the Year X2
For the second year in a row, the Ruston Daily Leader has been named Newspaper of the Year by the Louisiana Press Association.
The association announced the results of the 2023 Better Newspaper Competition Friday in Baton Rouge. The competition reflects the work of daily and weekly newspapers from across the state in editorial content, advertising content and all-around excellence.
The Leader earned Newspaper of the Year honors in Division 2 of the 2023 Better Newspaper Competition by winning the most awards in various categories among more than a dozen daily newspapers across Louisiana.
“Being named Newspaper of the Year two years in a row is a reflection of our strong dedication to provide quality, relevant, reliable news to our local community,” Leader Publisher Celeste Holley said. “We are honored to be recognized, and we will continue striving to the highest quality content to the city and parish we hold so dear.”
The Leader also received the next highest honor in the division, the General Excellence award. While Newspaper of the Year is a compilation of points from all categories, for General Excellence, the newspaper is judged cover to cover for creativity, design, reader appeal, news quality, quality advertisements, public notices and more.
This marks the third consecutive year the Leader has taken at least a share of the General Excellence distinction after capturing the sole title in the 2021 contest and part of a tie in 2022.
In individual categories, the Sam Hanna Award for Best Regular Column may as well buy land in Ruston, as the honor has now remained in the Leader newsroom for four years as Editor Brian Trahan takes his secondstraight win.
“It’s a great honor to again be associated with such a great newspaperman as Sam Hanna, and to win the award that bears his name,” Trahan said. “I’m even more honored to share an office with such a great staff. Winning back-to-back Newspaper of the Year awards is a testament to how hard everyone here works each and every day. I’m sure everyone would agree it’s a labor of love to publish the news for our entire community.”
Trahan also took home the Gary Hebert Award for Best Layout and Design, a first for the Leader since rejoining the contest in 2020.
This year the competition was judged by the Mississippi Press Association.
Other first-place wins in editorial categories included Best Headline for Trahan, Best Sports Story for Sports Editor Matt Belinson’s feature on former Cedar Creek softball star Allie Furr, and Best Sports Column for Belinson.
Meanwhile the Leader’s advertising staff, led by Holley, took home firstplace finishes in Best Ad Campaign, Best Multiple Advertiser Page, Best In-Paper Promotion, and Best Staff-Generated Ad.
The Leader’s website, rustonleader. com, once again was named first in Best Overall Website, and the spring 2023 edition of Lincoln Life Magazine earned first place in Best Special Section.
“Our readers are our family — we exist to serve you with the best we can offer,” Holley said. “These accolades show we take pride in every story, every photo, every advertisement that lines our pages.”
