EL DORADO — The El Dorado News-Times staff won several awards in the 2016 Associated Press Media Editors contest.
“The News-Times is blessed with a staff that works hard everyday to bring vital news and information to the people of El Dorado and Union County. Their efforts are well noticed by the Associated Press indicating that the experts agree on the caliber of our staff and their reporting,” said News-Times General Manager Ronnie Bell on Friday.
“I know they will continue to look to provide our readers with local news they just won’t find anywhere else — my hat is off to them for the work they do,” Bell said.
The News-Times crew garnered three second place and three third place awards in the statewide competition.
The El Dorado News-Times competed with smaller daily newspapers from around the state, including the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record, the Pine Bluff Commercial, The (Mountain Home) Baxter Bulletin, the Batesville Daily Guard and the Conway Log Cabin Democrat.
Winners included news editor and photographer Terrance Armstard, who won second place for spot news photo and third place for photographer’s portfolio; reporter Haley Smith, who won second place in the news feature category; page designer Kelsey Womack took third place for non-traditional news item and shared a second place with page designer Bradly Gill in the page design category; and the News-Times staff took third place in the digital category.
“The News-Times staff is a good mix of seasoned reporters and new talent, and they are always willing to go the extra mile to get the story, and that shows in these awards,” said managing editor Randal Curtman. “On the design side, Bradly and Kelsey work hard to keep the look of the newspaper fresh and reader friendly. With our recent redesign and some of the changes we have planned for the future, I think the sky is the limit.”