The Carroll County News — sister newspaper to the Eureka Springs Times-Echo — has been awarded first place for general excellence among medium- circulation weekly newspapers for the fourth consecutive year in the Arkansas Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper editorial contest.
The newspaper has taken first place for general excellence six times in the past seven years.
The awards were presented Saturday, July 22, at the conclusion of the APA’s annual summer convention. This year’s convention was held at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Little Rock.
“We are very proud to receive the general excellence award again this year,” said editor and publisher Scott Loftis, who owns both the Carroll County News and the Eureka Springs Times-Echo along with partners David Bell and Steve Johnson. “We’re also very humbled to be recognized among an outstanding group of weekly newspapers in Arkansas. We don’t do what we do to win awards, but we’re proud of our consistent success and we believe it’s one way that we can measure our performance in carrying out our ultimate mission, which is to provide the people of Carroll County with the information they need and deserve about what’s happening in their communities.”
In addition to the overall honor, the Carroll County News also received 24 individual honors, including six individual first-place awards.
Loftis also was presented with the Charles Gordon Newman Prize for distinguished news story. The Newman Prize, which was open to all daily and weekly newspapers in Arkansas regardless of circulation, is named for Charles Gordon Newman, who founded the Pine Bluff Commercial and was one of the founders of the Arkansas Press Association.
Loftis, who worked at the Commercial for more than 10 years and serves on the APA’s board of directors, said the award came as a surprise to him.
“People think of the big daily papers winning this kind of award,” he said. “I’ve often said that ‘small’ newspapers can accomplish big things and this award is proof of that. I’m very honored to receive it, especially with my connections to both the Commercial and the APA. When I heard (APA executive director) Ashley Wimberley call my name at the awards lunch, I was just a little bit shocked.”
Loftis won the award for a report published in August 2022 regarding former Green Forest mayor Charlie Reece, who was a candidate for the same office in last November’s general election.
The Reece story also won first place in the News Story category for Loftis. Loftis also won first place in News and Political Column for a column about Eureka Springs city attorney Forrest Jacobi billing the newspaper nearly $17,000 for responding to requests for public information, Beat Reporter for his coverage of the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission, and Sports Column. Photographer Charlie Chappell took first place for Single Sports Action Photo and Chappell and Loftis won first place for Picture Page Photo Essay.
Reporter Rick Harvey won second place in the News Story category for a story on Eureka Springs Cemetery Commission members discussing a prospective employee after the adjournment of a public meeting and in Sports Feature Story for a story on Eureka Springs High School student Emma Gilmore, a nationally competitive swimmer. Bell took both second and third place for Single Feature Photo and tied for third place in the Single News Photo category. Former associate editor Robert Cox won second place for Best Front Page Design and General Interest Column.
In addition to first place for Single Sports Action Photo, Chappell also won third place in the same category.
Loftis won both second place and an honorable mention — for reporting on audio recordings involving Eureka Springs mayor Butch Berry and other city officials — in the Series Reporting category, second place for Investigative Reporting for the series on the audio recordings, second place for Sports Column, second place and an honorable mention for News and Political Column, third place for Feature Story for a report on local residents including a Eureka Springs man who rescued a driver from a semi-truck that caught fire after an accident, Sports News Story and Headline and honorable mention for News Story.
Awards were presented in 25 categories. The Carroll County News received awards in all 16 categories it entered. Newspapers competed in six divisions based on their circulation and publishing frequency.
Entries were judged by members of the Mississippi Press Association.
