Dee Ann Campbell, chairman of the APA Better Newspaper Contest Committee, announced the winners of the 2011 Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest on Friday afternoon.

Seventy-six newspapers submitted 2,657 entries in the annual contest. Mississippi Press Association judged the entries.

The awards will be presented June 11 at APA’s 140th summer convention at Caribe Resort in Orange Beach. General Excellence, Best Pubic Service, FOI-First Amendment Award, Most Improved, Best Presswork, Best Newspaper Website, Photograph of the Year, Story of the Year, and Categories 1-8 will be announced during the awards banquet.

General Excellence awards are based on total points earned from five areas: issues submitted for the general excellence category, awards in eight general categories, awards in the public service and FOI categories, awards in the single event categories and awards from the advertising contest.

Winners of the awards are as follows:

Category 9 — Best Spot News Story

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for “‘Then I smelled the gunpowder’” by Lee Roop,

Patricia McCarter & Chris Welch

2nd place The Huntsville Times for “Not Again” by Steve Doyle, Patricia McCarter & Mike Marshall

3rd place Press-Register (Mobile) for “Nodine named murder suspect” by Brendan Kirby,

Katherine Sayre & Rhoda Pickett

Division B

1st place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for “Storms strike DeKalb again” by Mark

Harrison

2nd place The News-Courier (Athens) for “Prominent couple is beaten in Limestone home

invasion” by Karen Middleton

3rd place The Gadsden Times for “Bank robbery suspects nabbed” by Lisa Rogers

Division C

1st place The Arab Tribune for “Joppa firefighter killed in wreck on Ala. 69” by David

Moore

2nd place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Norris’ death treated as homicide” by Bo

Bolton & Josh Dewberry

3rd place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Devastation” by Elizabeth

Summers

Division D

1st place The Eufaula Tribune for “Doesn’t seem humane” by Tiffiny Woo

2nd place The Brewton Standard for “Sheriff: Son kills mother” by Lisa Tindell

3rd place The Atmore Advance for “Fire claims life of 4-year-old” by Adam Prestridge

Category 10 — Best In-Depth News Coverage

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for University of Alabama in Huntsville shooting coverage

by staff

2nd place Press-Register (Mobile) for oil spill coverage by Ben Raines

3rd place The Decatur Daily for “The Upside of Down” by Gary Cosby, Jr.

Division B

1st place The Cullman Times for wet/dry vote coverage by Trent Moore

2nd place The Gadsden Times for texting and driving coverage by Lisa Rogers

3rd place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for ATV ban coverage by Jared Felkins

Division C

1st place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for Little River State Park coverage by Mike

Qualls

2nd place Prattville Progress for Prattville City Council meetings coverage by Don Fletcher

3rd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for immigration debate in Shelby County

coverage by staff

Division D

1st place The Brewton Standard for death of T.R. Miller Principal Donnie Rotch coverage

by Kerry Whipple Bean, Lisa Tindell, Adam Robinson & Lydia Grimes

2nd place The Atmore Advance for gaming debate coverage by Adam Prestridge

3rd place The Jacksonville News for board of education superintendent coverage by David Jennings

Category 11 — Best Business Story or Column

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for “Cash-only care” by Steve Doyle

2nd place The Birmingham News for “Squeezing gas from a rock” by Russell Hubbard

3rd place The Birmingham News for “Where have all the jobs gone?” by Roy Williams

Division B

1st place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for “Invention takes off” by Mark Harrison

2nd place The Cullman Times for “On the radar” by Trent Moore

3rd place The Clanton Advertiser for “Spillover effect” by Scott Mims

Division C

1st place The Tri-City Ledger (Flomaton) for “We need to spend more money in the local

area” by Joe Thomas

2nd place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “A cut above” by Josh Dewberry

3rd place Hartselle Enquirer for “Our loss, Cullman’s gain?” by Leada Gore

Division D

1st place The Tuskegee News for “Downward spiral” by Guy Rhodes

2nd place The Tuskegee News for “25 charities to miss 2010 bingo payouts” by Jeff

Thompson

3rd place The Auburn Villager for “Dining Dollars, Part II” by Jacque Kochak

Category 12 — Best Feature Story

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for “Filling great needs” by Curtis Coghlan

2nd place The Birmingham News for “Lily’s journey: A legacy that will last” by Bob

Carlton

3rd place The Tuscaloosa News for “Derby Dolls” by Wayne Grayson

Division B

1st place The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) for “Only the good die young” by DeWayne

Patterson

2nd place Opelika-Auburn News for “AU alum’s memoir inspired TV series” by Ed Enoch

3rd place The Daily Mountain Eagle (Jasper) for “Carbon Hill’s ‘Officer Showbiz’ dazzles

and directs” by W. Brian Hale

Division C

1st place Hartselle Enquirer for “History takes flight” by Todd Thompson

2nd place Shelby County Reporter for “Crafting beads of courage” by Katie Hurst

3rd place The Arab Tribune for “Relay week in Arab” by David Moore

Division D

1st place The Tuskegee News for “Atlanta school continuing Tuskegee legacy” by Jeff Thompson

2nd place The Eufaula Tribune for “Free at last…” by Ed Trainor

3rd place The Brewton Standard for “‘He gave him the chance to fight.’” by Adam

Robinson

Category 13 — Best News Feature Story

Division A

1st place TimesDaily (Florence) for “On their own” by Michelle Rupe Eubanks

2nd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Dream home to bad dream” by Dennis Sherer

3rd place The Huntsville Times for “Stone Manor, reality check” by Challen Stephens

Division B

1st place The Selma Times-Journal for “‘I wanted to die, too.’” by Brian Tynes & Leesha

Faulkner

2nd place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “Oil washes ashore on Alabama beaches” by

Kenneth Boone & Katie Cole

3rd place The Cullman Times for “Outage issues” by Benjamin Bullard

Division C

1st place The Citizen of East Alabama (Phenix City) for “Chance meeting leads to special

Christmas gift” by Mark Clark

2nd place The Choctaw Sun-Advocate (Gilbertown) for “What happened to Gerry?” by Dee

Ann Campbell

3rd place The Arab Tribune for “Bullet survived with Bishop; 608’s last call” by David

Moore

Division D

1st place The Piedmont Journal for “The last flight of Pvt. Fred G. Fagan” by Eddie

Burkhalter

2nd place The Brewton Standard for “Fighting parole” by Kerry Whipple Bean

3rd place The Fairhope Courier for “Wildlife rehab center is for the birds” by Curt

Chapman

Category 14 — Best Editorial

Division A

1st place Press-Register (Mobile) for “BP: Broken promises” by Carol McPhail

2nd place The Birmingham News for “We’re No. 1 but…” by staff

3rd place The Huntsville Times for “A breach of trust and the law” by Kevin Wendt

Division B

1st place The Selma Times-Journal for “Selma has power to stop crime” by staff

2nd place The Cullman Times for “Look away from past” by David Palmer

3rd place Opelika-Auburn News for “Honestly, Bentley…” by Joe McAdory

Division C

1st place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “City betrayed public’s trust when they hid AFEC item on agenda” by Ben Shurett

2nd place The Choctaw Sun-Advocate (Gilbertown) for “If it makes a difference to just

one” by Tommy Campbell

3rd place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Citizens must not lose use of Little River

State Forest” by Mike Qualls

Division D

1st place The Wetumpka Herald for “Bingo issue must be decided in court and at ballot

box” by Kim Price

2nd place The Brewton Standard for “Political blame has no place” by Kerry Whipple Bean

3rd place The Greenville Advocate for “Gravel not a good option for county” by Kevin

Pearcey

Category 15 — Best Humorous Column

Division A

1st place The Birmingham News for “Top 10 excuses for driving & texting” by John

Archibald

2nd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Experiment puts angry mob at door” by Scott Morris

3rd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Take me out to the ball game” by Bernie Delinski

Division B

1st place Opelika-Auburn News for “All I want for Christmas is a pair of matching socks”

by Joe McAdory

2nd place The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) for “It’s here somewhere: Lost in Green Bay” by

Ken Bonner

3rd place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for “Don’t judge until you’ve danced a mile in the

mullet” by J.D. Davidson

Division C

1st place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Go on, the waters of Destin are

fine” by Lionel Green

2nd place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “The best things in life are chocolate” by

Jane Martin

3rd place Call News (Citronelle) for “Adventures in parenting” by Willie Gray

Division D

1st place The Luverne Journal for “Leonard Skinner and other great names” by Michael

Rodgers

2nd place The Onlooker (Foley) for “Getting prickly” by Bob Morgan

3rd place The Atmore Advance for “Journalism: A contact career” by Adam Prestridge

Category 16 — Best Human Interest Column

Division A

1st place The Birmingham News for “A Christmas letter to my daughter” by John

Archibald

2nd place The Huntsville Times for “At last, a bona fide hero gets his due” by Mark McCarter

3rd place The Birmingham News for “Our lovely ‘Pink Lady’ goes home” by Kathy Kemp

Division B

1st place The Daily Home (Talladega) for “Forgiveness: Good for body and soul” by S.D.

Palmer

2nd place Opelika-Auburn News for “Christmas – always with my Dad” by Joe McAdory

3rd place The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) for “Summertime, and the living was oh, so easy”

by Ken Bonner

Division C

1st place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “50th celebration of TKAM must include

‘Atticus’” by George T. Jones

2nd place The Arab Tribune for “Does Neal Bishop’s ghost visit bar?” by David Moore

3rd place The Choctaw Sun-Advocate (Gilbertown) for “Just a ‘tiny’ remote control” by

Dee Ann Campbell

Division D

1st place The Eclectic Observer for “Eclectic loses a familiar character” by David Goodwin

2nd place The Tuskegee News for “One last walk on pristine beach” by Guy Rhodes

3rd place The Southeast Sun for “Good parents make a difference” by Casey Strickland

Category 17 — Best Editorial Column or Commentary

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for “Private meeting raises old questions” by Challen

Stephens

2nd place The Birmingham News for “Fixing taxes: Socialism, or fairness?” by Bob Blalock

3rd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Kids go cold: TVA pays big bonuses” by Scott Morris

Division B

1st place The News-Courier (Athens) for “This just in: Men, like chimps, are evolving” by

Kelly Kazek

2nd place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “Teachers should keep opinion out of class” by

Roger Steele

3rd place Opelika-Auburn News for “Child’s play” by Joe McAdory

Division C

1st place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Kobach doesn’t pass my smell

test, not yet” by Ben Shurett

2nd place Birmingham Business Journal for “Are we afraid of pure capitalism?” by Ty West

3rd place Tri-City Ledger (Flomaton) for “Town district did not get any representation” by

Joe Thomas

Division D

1st place The Auburn Villager for “The memory that haunts me” by Gillis Morgan

2nd place The Tuskegee News for “Gov. Riley, what about the people?” by Guy Rhodes

3rd place The Greenville Advocate for “The oil shed is on our hands” by Austin Nelson

Category 18 — Best Sports News In-Depth Coverage

Division A

1st place The Montgomery Advertiser for SEC Championship Game coverage by Brad

Zimanek

2nd place The Anniston Star for Kenya runners coverage by staff

3rd place The Tuscaloosa News for BCS National Championship coverage by Cecil Hurt,

Chase Goodbread, Tommy Deas, Aaron Suttles and Michael Southern

Division B

1st place Opelika-Auburn News for “Hoop dreams” by David Morrison

2nd place Opelika-Auburn News for “Rising from the ashes” by David Morrison

3rd place The News-Courier (Athens) for “Community leaders look for ways to draw

visitors” Karen Middleton

Division C

1st place Shelby County Reporter for Spain Park scandal coverage by Wesley Hallman

2nd place The Arab Tribune for “Suttles pins down first state title” by Donna Matuszak

3rd place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Volunteers finish season 12-1” by Bo

Bolton, Josh Dewberry & Mike Qualls

Division D

1st place The Southeast Sun (Enterprise) for Enterprise High School Wildcats coverage by

Andy Leonard, Melissa Braun, Laura Fezie, Kim Lewis, Caroline Quattlebaum &

Rick Center

2nd place The Greenville Advocate for Butler County Magnet School coaching search

coverage by Kevin Pearcey & Austin Nelson

3rd place The Brewton Standard for “Assessing the risk” by Adam Robinson

Category 19 — Best Sports Single Event Story

Division A

1st place The Birmingham News for “Tony becomes a Tiger” by Charles Goldberg and Jeff

Sentell

2nd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Going for glory in Glendale” by staff

3rd place Press-Register (Mobile) for “Class favorites” by staff

Division B

1st place The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) for “Game of chance” by Jason Bowen

2nd place The Selma Times-Journal for “Golf’s ‘Glory Days’” by Brian Tynes

3rd place The Clanton Advertiser for “Horton wins demolition derby” by Stephen Dawkins

Division C

1st place The Citizen of East Alabama (Phenix City) for “Tim Hudson’s donation will

make mark on CVCC’s future” by Mark Clark

2nd place Hartselle Enquirer for “Turf wars” by Todd Thompson

3rd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Rebels claim title” by Wesley Hallman

Division D

1st place The Greenville Advocate for “Clutch shooter” by Kevin Pearcey

2nd place The Wetumpka Herald for “Golden moment” by Griffin Pritchard

3rd place The Atmore Advance for “ECHS coach killed in crash” by Chandler Myers

Category 20 — Best Sports Feature Story

Division A

1st place The Tuscaloosa News for “Big shoes to fill” by Chase Goodbread, Cecil Hurt &

Tommy Deas

2nd place The Decatur Daily for “Decatur’s toughest 18” by Cody Whitlock

3rd place The Tuscaloosa News for “Blueprint of a championship” by Tommy Deas

Division B

1st place The Cullman Times for “Inspiration to all” by Justin Graves

2nd place The Enterprise Ledger for “Rivalry continues” by Carole Brand

3rd place Opelika-Auburn News for “AU O-line on quest to become the best” by David

Morrison

Division C

1st place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Lambert brothers’ journey ends Thursday

in Pasadena” by Mike Qualls

2nd place The Citizen of East Alabama (Phenix City) for “Extreme Experience” by Mark

Clark

3rd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Alabaster native beats doubters,

tragedy to shine as a Troy Trojan” by David Potter

Division D

1st place The Demopolis Times for “‘Big Face’ faces big decisions” by Jeremy D. Smith

2nd place The Southeast Sun (Enterprise) for “Long line of dreams” by Casey Strickland

and Laura Fezie

3rd place The Wetumpka Herald for “The real football wives of Elmore County” by Griffin

Pritchard

Category 21 — Best Local Sports Column

Division A

1st place The Montgomery Advertiser for “Big Apple Cameo” by Josh Moon

2nd place Press-Register (Mobile) for “Catch of a lifetime” by Tommy Hicks

3rd place The Dothan Eagle for “Future Masters title goes to retro champ” by Ken Rogers

Division B

1st place The Clanton Advertiser for “Are booster clubs good for sports?” by Stephen

Dawkins

2nd place Opelika-Auburn News for “BEMC more than just concrete” by Mike Szvetitz

3rd place Daily Mountain Eagle (Jasper) for “Auburn’s coliseum filled with memories” by Johnathan Bentley

Division C

1st place Hartselle Enquirer for “SNAP’s worthy namesake” by Todd Thompson

2nd place The Choctaw Sun-Advocate (Gilbertown) for “The cost of caring” by Spencer

White

3rd place Hartselle Enquirer for “Booth saw the potential” by Todd Thompson

Division D

1st place The Eufaula Tribune for “This parent’s priorities are out of bounds” by Patrick

Johnston

2nd place The Atmore Advance for “Coaching search full of secrets” by Chandler Myers

3rd place The Greenville Advocate for “Applauding the ‘misses’ in the world” by Kevin

Pearcey

Category 22 — Best Feature Photo

Division A

1st place The Decatur Daily for “An insuring spirit” by Gary Cosby Jr.

2nd place The Huntsville Times for “Norfolk Southern Train” by Mike Mercier

3rd place The Birmingham News for “Winning shaves” by Michelle Campbell

Division B

1st place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “Big air” by Kenneth Boone

2nd place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for “Happy Turkey day” by Melissa Smith

3rd place The Daily Home (Talladega) for “I’ll be your eyes” by Bob Crisp

Division C

1st place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Riding Dirty” by Jon Goering

2nd place The Arab Tribune for “Frog legs for lunch” by David Moore

3rd place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Christmas Memories” by

Elizabeth Summers

Division D

1st place The Brewton Standard for “Hopping to it” by Kerry Whipple Bean

2nd place The Greenville Advocate for “Heavenly plunge” by Kevin Pearcey

3rd place The Southeast Sun (Enterprise) for “Trying to beat the heat” by Kim Lewis

Category 23 — Best News Photo

Division A

1st place The Tuscaloosa News for “A tough goodbye” by Michelle Lepianka Carter

2nd place The Birmingham News for “In memory and honor” by Bernard Troncale

3rd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Another day, another 100” by Jim Hannon

Division B

1st place The Messenger (Troy) for “Paying tribute” by Thomas Graning

2nd place The Clanton Advertiser for “Up in the air” by Stephen Dawkins

3rd place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “Song & sorrow” by Kenneth Boone

Division C

1st place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Albertville kicks off area weekend

activities tonight” by Jonathan Stinson

2nd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Wreaths of honor” by Jon Goering

3rd place Tri-City Ledger (Flomaton) for “Dubose is denied parole” by Joe Thomas

Division D

1st place The Luverne Journal for “Firefighter training” by Michael Rodgers

2nd place The Southeast Sun (Enterprise) for “‘Heartwrenching’” by Melissa Braun

3rd place The Greenville Advocate for “Cleaning up the coast” by Ashley Vansant

Category 24 — Best Spot News Photo

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for “‘Then I smelled the gunpowder’” by Dave Dieter

2nd place The Huntsville Times for “Brush with Disaster” by Bob Gathany

3rd place The Montgomery Advertiser for “Two children dead after SUV plunges into

pond” by David Bundy

Division B

1st place The Daily Home (Talladega) for “Fire leaves family with little” by Brian

Schoenhals

2nd place The News-Courier (Athens) for “Local man drowns in Elk River” by Kim

Rynders

3rd place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for “Tornadoes rip DeKalb” by Jared Felkins

Division C

1st place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Fires burn shed, vacant house” by Josh

Dewberry

2nd place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Truck crashes into Albertville

home on Carlisle Street” by Jonathan Stinson

3rd place Tri-City Ledger (Flomaton) for “Battling blaze” by Joe Thomas

Division D

1st place The Wilcox Progressive Era (Camden) for “Horse struck by truck” by Hagen Curl

2nd place The Atmore Advance for “Fire claims life of 4-year-old” by Allison Knowles

3rd place Madison County Record for “Ducks on the Pond” by Austin Phillips

Category 25 — Best Sports Photo

Division A

1st place Press-Register (Mobile) for “‘In our hearts’” by Bill Starling

2nd place The Anniston Star for “No peak in Valley” by Stephen Gross

3rd place The Montgomery Advertiser for “Cold-Cocked!” by Mickey Welsh

Division B

1st place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “Big air” by Kenneth Boone

2nd place The News Courier (Athens) for “Lady Colts bound for state” by Ashley Hargrove

3rd place The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) for “Hail to the Chiefs” by Jason Bowen

Division C

1st place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Vols need one more!” by Mike Qualls

2nd place Hartselle Enquirer for “Wet and wild” by Todd Thompson

3rd place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Focusing Energy” by Jonathan

Stinson

Division D

1st place The Luverne Journal for “Back-to-Back champions” by Michael Rodgers

2nd place The Bulletin (Daphne) for “Amazing admirals” by Tony Whitehead

3rd place The Jacksonville News for “Lady Eagles shot down in shootout” by Lori Tippets

Category 26 — Best Photo Essay

Division A

1st place The Huntsville Times for “Born to swim” by Eric Schultz

2nd place The Tuscaloosa News for “Derby Dolls” by Michelle Lepianka Carter

3rd place The Montgomery Advertiser for “Fun, sun, sand… and oil” by David Bundy

Division B

1st place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “A tearful goodbye” by Kenneth Boone and

Brent Maze

2nd place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “What a show!” by Kenneth Boone

3rd place The Daily Home (Talladega) for “This is Talladega” by Brian Schoenhals

Division C

1st place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Wreaths of honor” by Jon Goering

2nd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Pigskin” by Jon Goering

3rd place Prattville Progress for “Lions, tigers and art – oh, my!” by Angelique Suzanne

Division D

1st place The Brewton Standard for “‘Let me be brave’” by Kerry Whipple Bean

2nd place The Jacksonville News for “Reunited” by Anita Kilgore and David Jennings

3rd place The Southeast Sun (Enterprise) for “Enterprise Aviation Expo” by Laura Fezie

Category 27 — Best Use of Graphics or Illustrations

Division A

1st place The Anniston Star for “The end of a Cam-paign” by Bran Strickland

2nd place The Tuscaloosa News for “Your home’s uninvited guests” by Anthony Bratina

3rd place Press-Register (Mobile) for “The one that got away” by J.D. Crowe

Division B

1st place Opelika-Auburn News for “Yes he Cam” by Cliff Williams

2nd place The Fort Payne Times-Journal for “Roll film” by Jared Felkins and Melissa Smith

3rd place The Selma Times-Journal for “Better than you’d think” by Tim Reeves

Division C

1st place Call News (Citronelle) for “Gridiron” by Jessie Gray

2nd place The Choctaw Sun-Advocate (Gilbertown) for “Talking trash” by Dan Melvin

3rd place The Monroe Journal (Monroeville) for “Hanging out with the HIPPYS” by Jodie

Bolton and Mary B. Tomlinson

Division D

1st place The Southeast Sun (Enterprise) for “Life under the lights” by S.C. Shaw

2nd place The Luverne Journal for “Profile 2010” by Michael Rodgers

3rd place The Bulletin (Daphne) for “Renters beware” by Thomas Boni

Category 28 — Best Headline

Division A

1st place Press-Register (Mobile) for “From bags to riches” by staff

2nd place The Tuscaloosa News for “The Doctor is in” by staff

3rd place The Birmingham News for “Cam you believe it?” by Kent Kasey

Division B

1st place The Cullman Times for “Buzz short lived for alcohol supporters” by Amanda

Shavers-Davis

2nd place The Cullman Times for “Final nail comes down on tool plant” by Amanda

Shavers-Davis

3rd place The News-Courier (Athens) for “Who’ll stop the pain?” by Kelly Kazek

Division C

1st place Citizen of East Alabama (Phenix City) for “Law firm has the Hurtsboro Library

crying ‘Wii, Wii, Wii’” by Mark Clark

2nd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Pitching Fitts, throwing strikes” by

Wesley Hallman

3rd place The Sand Mountain Reporter (Albertville) for “Scales, tails and sales” by Lionel

Green

Division D

1st place The Dadeville Record for “James Cable gets bad reception” by Dale Liesch

2nd place The Luverne Journal for “Robbery plants ‘Appleseed’ in jail” by Michael

Rodgers

3rd place The Brewton Standard for “SnOMG!” by Kerry Whipple Bean

Category 29 — Best Special Section

Division A

1st place The Birmingham News for “The next big thing” by staff

2nd place The Decatur Daily for “The future of robotics” by staff

3rd place The Huntsville Times for “To the moon” by staff

Division B

1st place The Cullman Times for “Roll Tide” by Justin Graves

2nd place The Messenger (Troy) for “Profile: Perspectives 2010” by staff

3rd place The Selma Times-Journal for “Horizons” by staff

Division C

1st place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “iSpeak: Shelby County” by staff

2nd place Call News (Citronelle) for “Football Preview” by staff

3rd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Bentley becomes 53rd governor” by

staff

Division D

1st place The Greenville Advocate for “Profile 2010” by staff

2nd place The Wetumpka Herald for “Horizons 2010” by staff

3rd place The Greenville Advocate for “Football 2010” by staff

Category 30 — Best Niche Publication

Division A

1st place The Tuscaloosa News for “Tuscaloosa” magazine by Janet Sudnik

2nd place The Montgomery Advertiser for “How the Tide rolls” by Brad Zimanek

3rd place TimesDaily (Florence) for “Explore the shoals” by Leah Daniels

Division B

1st place The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) for “Jackson” by Laura Pitts, Ken Bonner, Jason

Bowen and DeWayne Patterson

2nd place The Selma Times-Journal for “Spanish Moss” by Laura Fenton and Ashley Key

3rd place The Outlook (Alexander City) for “Lake Magazine” by staff

Division C

1st place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Shelby Living” magazine by staff

2nd place Shelby County Reporter (Columbiana) for “Bride Guide” by staff

3rd place Hartselle Enquirer for “Bread & Butter” by staff

Division D

1st place The Wetumpka Herald for “Bassmaster Elite Series” by staff

2nd place The Greenville Advocate for “Camellia” magazine by staff

3rd place The Demopolis Times for “The year of the Tigers” by staff