Argus-Courier wins four awards in CNPA Better Newspapers Contest

The awards included the top prize for general excellence in its category.|

The Argus-Courier won two first-place and two second-place awards last weekend in the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association annual Better Newspapers Contest, including the top award for general excellence.

Competing in the category of weekly newspapers with 4,301 to 11,000 circulation, the paper won the general excellence award for the sixth time in eight years.

Sports Editor John Jackson won first place for best sports game story for a story on a Petaluma High School football playoff game against Rancho Cotati.

News Editor Eric Gneckow won second place in the environmental reporting category for a story on the planned 1,700 new housing units in Petaluma. Photographer Scott Manchester won second place for his photo of a Petaluma mother who lost her son to leukemia.

The advertising team also won third place in the community history special section category for its 160th anniversary section.

In addition, Argus-Courier Community Editor Hannah Beausang won three awards for her work at The Ark in Tiburon. She won first place in best business coverage for a story on a family-owned business in Belvedere; second place for best sports game story for a story about an open-water swim team; and second place in education coverage for a story about a documentary on a woman coder.

Argus-Courier Editor Matt Brown, a former Press Democrat staff writer, picked up second place for sports game story with Press Democrat Staff Writer Phil Barber for coverage of the Dawn Wall climb in Yosemite.

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