Our quirky blend of nerdy newshounds

Last week, I received an email from the Local Media Association, a large national newspaper organization that serves hundreds of small- and medium-market newspapers, primarily in suburban areas.

The attachment made me proud. It was an awards list, and it showed that the Southeast Missourian had won 16 awards -- awards in nearly every category we had entered. All told, we've won 29 national and state awards in the last year, not counting some awards entered in separate sports writing contests. These awards are for coverage from the Flood of 2011, investigative pieces like the county salaries story, in-depth pieces like Lucky Sands, feature stories like Teresa Birk, election coverage of the casino and the smoking ban, our entertainment coverage, young people coverage, sports writing and photos ... the list goes on.

If you've read the Southeast Missourian regularly, I'll let you make up your own mind on the quality of our newspaper. My intent today is not to brag about the awards (well, maybe a little). My intent today is to brag about our people. The awards simply give me an excuse to do so.

We don't get everything right here at the Southeast Missourian. We make mistakes. Sometimes our stories fall a bit short in clarity and completeness; sometimes our photography is only so-so. But more often than not, our journalists are busting their tails to bring you compelling news.

I've seen our reporters don rain boots and sludge through the muck to get the story even when they're sick. I've seen a photographer abandon her own flooded apartment to spend all day capturing history on her Nikkon. I've seen a reporter hop in his truck to drive two hours in the snow to get an interview with a crime victim.

I've seen our people come in on their days off. That happens a lot. I've witnessed them volunteering for lackluster assignments to help out a co-worker. I've seen people come back early from surgeries.

I've seen people cry over their mistakes. I've seen the urgency on faces when a big story breaks. I've seen anger when technology dooms awesome intentions.

I've seen our behind-the-scenes employees pick up a large amount of extra work (sometimes with little warning or little time to prepare) without complaint.

I've known reporters to work through the night. I've seen inexperienced reporters mature before my eyes. I've seen veteran reporters serve as mentors.

I've seen older employees embrace technology; quiet employees emerge from their shells. I've seen smiles and heard laughter in difficult situations. I've witnessed the evolution from shoulder chip to leadership.

I have an affection for our news people. This is a perfectly imperfect bunch, a quirky blend of nerdy newshounds who would much rather bring you great stories than bring attention to themselves. So today I'm doing it on their behalf.

When you hold this paper in your hands today, please know that a lot of hardworking and dedicated people helped put it together, not just the names in the bylines but a group of individuals each dedicated in their own right. News and great local content just doesn't happen. It requires inspired work to bring it to your fingertips.

I'd like to personally thank everyone who works so hard to bring award-winning news coverage to our readers. And I'd like to thank the readers who take time every day to read the news and find value in what we're doing.

Bob Miller is the editor of the Southeast Missourian.