Business Story ( 5,000 - 10,000 Dailies,Under 5,000 Dailies)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Willmar - West Central Tribune Entry Title: An evening at the Starlite Entry Credit: Carolyn Lange Judge Comment: A fun read from beginning to end. A focused COVID business story from the consumer and owner standpoint. Great quotes. The rest of the newspaper team supplied great photographs and layout for an impressive package highlighting a local business giving people something fun to do post-lockdowns.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Willmar - West Central Tribune Entry Title: Willmar couple continues inventive ways Entry Credit: Shelby Lindrud Judge Comment: The author makes an interesting story about a quirky local business owner's invention. The only submission out of the 34 that made me laugh. I wanted to learn more.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Willmar - West Central Tribune Entry Title: End of an area for newspaper carriers Entry Credit: Carolyn Lange Judge Comment: Very well-written enterprising story about the changing newspaper industry's impact on real people. Good color sprinkled in.
Competition Comment: There's a difference between a good daily story and an award-winning story. Many of the entries were fine stories covering an important topic.
But the award winning stories took it to the next level.They were easy to read, first off. They took an interesting topic and made the reader want more. Award winning stories capture the reader's attention. When something distracts him or her, they want to come back to finish it off.
They also have multiple sources and different perspective. They have a singular subject focus. The reader knows exactly what the story is about and it has a point. It's not a story just to fill space.
Enterprising stories got this judge's attention more often than not, as well. That means writing until the story is told well with all of the adequate information shared and not when everything is used up in the notebook.
