SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN WINS DOZEN AWARDS IN STATE PRESS COMPETITION

The Southeast Missourian captured a dozen awards in the Missouri Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were announced Saturday at the annual Missouri Press Association Convention in Kansas City.

The Missourian was twice honored with first-place awards: one for best front page for dailies; and again for best editorial for dailies.

The winning editorial was published in April and concerned hospital cooperation. Members of the editorial board include: Joni Adams, Jay Eastlick, Joe Sullivan, Peter Kinder, Gary Rust and Wally Lage.

The Missourian was also honored with a second-place award for Best Editorial Page. The Kansas City Star won first place; the Springfield News-Leader won third.

The press association also recognized the newspaper with a second place in general excellence.

Mark Bliss was recognized with a second-place honor as best humor columnist among daily newspapers. First place went to a writer at the St. Joseph News-Press, third place to a Kansas City Star columnist. Bliss' column appears Tuesdays.

The third installment of Zero Tolerance -- a cooperative effort between the Southeast Missourian and KVFS-TV -- earned a second-place award in Community Service among Missouri dailies. This particular series, written by News Editor Jay Eastlick, detailed the courts' dealing with drug suspects.

The Missourian's Learning Page, which appears each Tuesday, also earned the newspaper second-place honors in Best Young People's Coverage. That page is coordinated by staff writer Peggy Scott.

The Missourian took both second and third place in the Best Special Section category: a second for its 1993 YELL edition, which details Youth, Education, Learning and Literacy in the region; and third-place honors for a 1993 tabloid on Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh.

Another third-place honor came in Best Family Living Coverage among dailies for the Missourian's Home section, which is published each Wednesday. It includes features on home, parenting, food and fashion as well as regular columnists Dave Berry, Mary Blue and Susan Mills.

Two Missourian photographers were honored with honorable-mention awards. A sledding photo by Lou Peukert was recognized in the Best Feature photo category; Don Shrubshell earned recognition in the Best Spot News Photo category for his photograph of a house under surveillance.

The Zero Tolerance series will receive additional commendation this week when the Missouri Bar Association bestows its Excellence in Legal Journalism Award to the Missourian in Kansas City.

Judges said the series contributed significantly to the understanding of the law and legal system, and involved the community in addressing a serious problem.

Jack Wax, assistant director for communications, said the award represents the highest tribute the bar association can pay to journalists who are helping the public understand aspects of the legal system.