Arrow, Southeast Missourian recognized with awards

Awards are not the reason we in the newspaper business do what we do. It's about sharing important information with readers, providing a forum for discussion and including perspective.

It's about connecting readers with news. It's about advertisers having an opportunity to connect with customers. It's about playing a role in the communities in which we live.

However, it's nice when our products are recognized by peers and national media conferences.

The Arrow, the student newspaper of Southeast Missouri State University that is operated in partnership with Rust Communications, recently took home a dozen awards from the Missouri College Media Association convention held over the weekend at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo.

Among the awards were two first place finishes for "website homepage" and feature page "Bird's Eye View." It also placed second for Best Overall Newspaper for Division I, the largest division.

Other awards include: second place, sports page; third place, "In-Depth News Reporting" and "News Writing;" third place, "Photo Page;" third place, "Sports Writing;" and four honorable mentions.

Congratulations to the Arrow news staff for its fine work. The university's students and faculty should be proud of these journalists who keep the campus informed of university happenings and other local news.

Earlier this week the Southeast Missourian won four first-place awards from the national Local Media Association contest.

Local Media Association has a membership of more than 2,000 newspapers from the U.S. and Canada.

The first-place finishes were for best continuing coverage (Clay Waller guilty plea); best breaking news for "Waller gets 20;" best front page; and best niche product for Flourish, a magazine for Southeast Missouri women.

The newspaper also finished in third place for best election coverage for the 8th Congressional District.

A special thanks to our journalists for their commitment and also to our readers for following local news.