National journalism awards find a home in Dodge County
More national awards for journalistic excellence are making their way to Dodge County.
On Saturday, the Dodge County Independent earned two awards from the National Newspaper Association during its annual convention in Norfolk, Va. The DCI was one of four newspapers in Minnesota to earn awards in the competition.
The DCI captured a first place award for best photo essay for the February 2017 Land of Dodge photographed by Publisher Rick Bussler. The photo essay featured “The Ultimate Sacrifice,” which honored fallen Hayfield police chief Doug Claassen during a tribute by state and local officials for his sacrifice to Dodge County.
In awarding the first place to the DCI, judges commented, “The tight edit and variety of photos allowed the judge to feel the situation without need for cutlines. Great job capturing raw emotion.”
Bussler was also honored with a second place award for best breaking news story on the McNelius Trucking Explosion in Dodge Center in January 2017. “Classic example of a breaking news story,” the judges remarked. “Well written, good photographs. I felt the top two articles, possible three, were outstanding. You definitely answered the Y and H’s and got them up front. Well done.”
With this year’s awards, the DCI has now earned six national awards since 2016. In addition, the newspaper has won many state awards.
The DCI’s sister newspaper, the Steele County Times in Blooming Prairie, won four national awards, including a first place and second place.
The first place award given to the Times was for a special section that also ran in the DCI in August 2017. The section was a multi-page section focused on drunken driving and featured many local stories on victims, offenders, law enforcement personnel and others who join in the war to get drunk drivers off the roads.
“We are absolutely thrilled to receive the national recognition,” said Bussler. “But first and foremost, we are simply honored to be able to provide our readers with a strong commitment to journalism. The awards are just the icing on the cake.”
There were 1,607 entries in the contest with 478 awards given out. Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association is the voice of America’s community newspapers and is one of the largest associations in the country.