FLOWOOD — The Sun-Sentinel has won 13 awards, including eight firsts, for news coverage in the Mississippi Press Association’s 2022 Better Newspaper Media Contest.
Among honors received was second place in the top “General Excellence” category among all weekly newspapers in the state from a market of 5,000 residents or less.
The awards, for work published in 2022, were presented during a Saturday, June 17, luncheon at the MPA’s annual summer convention, held at Sheraton Flowood’s Refuge Hotel and Conference Center.
Contest entries were judged by newspaper professionals from the Arkansas Press Association.
The Sun-Sentinel placed second for overall excellence in its audience class. The Wayne County News of Waynesboro placed first and The Yazoo Herald of Yazoo City third.
“We are again honored and humbled to be recognized as one of the best small-town publications in Mississippi,” said Sun-Sentinel Editor and Publisher Clay McFerrin, who in mid-June marked 40½ years of service at the newspaper.
“It is because of the faithful support of readers and advertisers in our community that we are able to continue gathering the news and sharing information that is meaningful to Tallahatchians,” McFerrin added. “We appreciate each one of you.”
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Clay McFerrin received six individual first-place plaques for:
» Best Spot News Story, for the account of a March 30 windstorm that damaged 46 structures in Tallahatchie County
Judges commented, “It is important to have a balance of personal toll and property toll in storm stories, and this article accomplishes that. The detail about where damage occurred and what the damage was is excellent, and the personal accounts of riding out the storm give the necessary human element to the article. Excellent job.”
» Best Business News Story, for a September piece on a plan to establish a solar energy farm in western Tallahatchie County
» Best Sports News Story, for a March article about the Mississippi High School Activities Association and arbiter ruling disqualifying the Charleston High School boys basketball team from the 2A state playoffs for playing an ineligible player
Said judges, “Clay McFerrin handles a (probably) delicate story well with solid reporting.”
» Best Commentary Column, for a package of opinion page columns about firefighters being underappreciated, the Robert Hill Youth League’s spirit remaining alive and the dangers of summer heat
» Best Spot News Photograph, for the March 30 picture of storm victim Geneva Campbell surveying the damage to her home
» Best Lede, for the opening paragraph of a story about Clarksdale escaping Charleston’s Tiger Stadium with a hard-fought 16-6 win.
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Sun-Sentinel Office Manager Krista McFerrin won a solo first-place award for Best Lifestyles Page or Section for a series of "Tallahatchie Life & Style" page designs.
Said judges: "Great color photos!"
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Clay and Krista McFerrin won a first-place plaque in the category of Best Special Section, for the July 2022 Back to School publication.
Said judges, “Good section with lots of value for readers, which should result in lots of value for the advertisers.”
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Clay McFerrin also won the following individual awards:
» Second place in the category of Best In-depth or Investigative Coverage, for a February 2022 story about the city of Charleston changing the local system of government under which it operates from a city commission form of government to a board of alderman form
» Third place for Best Business News Story, about the inaugural meeting of the newly-created Tallahatchie River Authority being held in its namesake county of Tallahatchie
» Honorable mention, Best Spot News Story, for the March 2022 heart-rending account of Cascilla resident Sherry Jean Franklin Hill, 69, reentering her burning mobile home in an attempt to rescue a pair of Boston Terriers, only to succumb to the smoke
» Honorable mention for Best Business News Story, for a September piece about the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shooting down a proposal that would have established a public charter school within the boundaries of the East Tallahatchie School District
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Combined with six earlier awards for advertising excellence, the latest honors bring to 19, the total number of MPA awards presented to The Sun-Sentinel this year.
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"We are so proud of all winners in the contest," said MPA President Stephanie Patton, editor and publisher of The Leland Progress. "Recognition of their hard work honors the impact they make in the communities they serve."
Now in its 157th year, the Mississippi Press Association is the trade group representing state newspapers and digital media.
