Columbia Missourian Wins Gold Cup, 50 Missouri Press Association Awards
This Is Its Fifth Year in a Row to Receive the Top Honor in Class 2 Dailies
Columbia, Mo. (Sept. 24, 2015) — For the fifth year in a row, the Columbia Missourian is the winner of the Gold Cup in Class 2 dailies in the 2015 Missouri Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. The Gold Cup is awarded based on a point scale applied to the total number of awards received in the contest.
Overall, the Missourian won 48 of the awards; Vox Magazine, two. There were 15 entries that earned first-place honors. Missourian Managing Editor Jeanne Abbott and 10 students were on hand Sept. 12 to accept the awards on behalf of the publications during MPA’s annual convention in Columbia.
The Missourian is a digital-first publication that was founded in 1908 as a community newspaper. It covers Boone County and serves approximately 135,000 citizens. Vox is a weekly city magazine that focuses on the arts, culture, lifestyle and entertainment. The Missourian and Vox present content via video, audio and other multimedia. Both are available on a variety of platforms, including digital, mobile and social media.
The awards are as follows:
Gold Cup, Class 2 Dailies, Columbia Missourian
First Place
- Best News Photograph: “Journey for Justice Bus Ride” by Hannah Baldwin, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Feature Photograph: “Boy and Cow” by Timothy Tai, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About Religion: “Broadway Christian Church members install Little Free Library to promote literacy” by Daniela Sirtori, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Investigative Reporting: “The truth behind puppy mills, how bad breeders fare” by Josh Benson, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Sports Feature Story: “100th anniversary: The Kewpie craze” by Mark Selig, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Business Story: “Rare-book collector sets up shop in Columbia” by Josh Benson, Columbia Missourian.
- Best News Story: “Autism increases leave services struggling to meet demand” by Taylor Lower, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Breaking News Story: “Firefighter killed after walkway collapses” by Miranda Metheny, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Sports Columnist: “Maty Mauk’s confidence,” “Loss to UMKC,” “Shamburger showing” by Mark Selig, Columbia Missourian.
- Best News or Feature Obituary: “Sportscaster was beloved in Boonville” by Joe Guszkowski, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Sports Pages: Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best Story About History: “100th anniversary: The Kewpie craze” by Mark Selig, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Photo Illustration: “Stereotypes challenge sense of belonging” by Shannon Elliott and Aaron Franco, Vox Magazine.
- Best News or Feature Series: “Our Blue Highways” by the Vox Magazine staff.
- Best Overall Design: Columbia Missourian staff.
Second Place
- Best Business Story: “MU freshman pioneers art-lettering business” by Sirrah Joof, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Coverage of Government: “August primary election” by Timothy Maylander, Chris Jasper, Scott Delhommer, Victoria Trampler and the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best Feature Photograph: “Re-enactment of Battle of Centralia” by Hannah Baldwin, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Feature Story: “Drinking culture and sexual assaults” by Cassa Niedringhaus and Frances Webber, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Headline Writing: Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best Information Graphic: “Interactive election results” by Travis Hartman, Roman Kolgushev and James Gordon, Columbia Missourian.
- Best News or Feature Obituary: “Rex Bandy was a painter on a mission to beautify the world” by Hannah Pederson, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Photo Package: “Tiger takeover” by Mark Kauzlarich and Abby Connolly, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Sports Feature Story: “Trying out to be a Missouri Tiger” by Mark Selig, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Sports Photograph: “Special Olympics” by Shannon Elliott, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About Education: “Achievement gap, funding challenges” by Caroline Bauman, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About Religion: “Columbia church gives Myanmar family a home makeover” by Rachel Jelinek, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About Rural Life or Agriculture: “Right to Farm divides Missouri” by Chris Jasper, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About the Outdoors: “Hunters slow to trade risks of lead” by Matthew Patston, Columbia Missourian.
Third Place
- Best News Photograph: “Black Lives Matter” by Timothy Tai, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Feature Photograph: “Golden Knights Parachute Team” by Kylee Gregg, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About Religion: “Faith in the balance” by Lindsey Davison, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Business Story: “Missouri woman spreads her wings” by Abby Kass, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About the Outdoors: “Paddlefish pose management challenge” by Christine Coester, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Sports News Story or Package: “Michael Sam Package” by Brandon Foster, Alexander Smith, Matthew Fairburn, Greg Bowers and the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best Feature Story: “Inside Fulton State Hospital” by Claire Boston, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Front Page: June 5, June 8/9, June 20/21, the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best Breaking News Story: “Last alarm” by Joe Guszkowski, Columbia Missourian.
- Best News or Feature Obituary: “Steven Nagel” by Sabrina Russello, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Story About History: “Descendant of MU founder atones for slavery” by Richard Webner, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Military Story: “Veterans Treatment Court” by Katherine Knott, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Page Design: “Yourself in four years” by the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best News or Feature Special Section: “Progress Edition – Bright Ideas” by the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best News Story: “Offender pushes for registry changes” by Bailey Otto, Columbia Missourian.
Honorable Mention
- Best Business Story: “McMillen brothers” by Veronica DeStafano, Columbia Missourian.
- Best News Story: “Reporting sexual assault not required for MU faculty” by Caroline Bauman, Columbia Missourian.
- Best Breaking News Story: “‘Shear failure’ lead to walkway collapse” by the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best News or Feature Obituary: “Elbert fought for change in Columbia” by the Columbia Missourian staff.
- Best Military Story: “Historic mural” by Jasmine Ye Han, Columbia Missourian.
Updated: September 10, 2020