Times Staff Report
The Birmingham Times Media Group (BTMG) this weekend won nine awards in the 2022 Alabama Press Association (APA) Media Contest, including first place for Best In-Depth News Coverage; Best Feature Story Coverage and Best Photo Essay.
The APA presented the awards during its summer convention in Orange Beach. The Illinois Press Association membership judged more than 1800 entries in the contest.
Also, the Times won five National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Awards including first place for Health coverage and Black History Month Special Edition. The NNPA presented the awards during its summer convention in New Orleans.
In the two contests, the Times won seven first place awards and recognition in nearly every category that included news, health, features, business, photos, sports, layout and design and Special Section.
“I am very excited about the awards from the Alabama Press Association and the National Newspaper Publishers Association,” said Samuel P. Martin, president and publisher of the BTMG. “The recognition is a credit to our content team and the work that they do every day.”
Two entries won first place in both contests. “COVID 19 And Birmingham: One Year Later” by Erica Wright and Ameera Stewart swept both the top spots in the APA (Best In-Depth News Coverage) and NNPA (Emory O Jackson Heath Award) contests.
And, the BT’s special section, “A History of Black History” by Chandra Sparks Splond and Kathryn Sesser Dorne won in the APA (Best Special Section-Newsprint) and NNPA (Leon W. Washington Award) competition.
Other first place winners in the APA contest included “Dr. Jesse J. Lewis Sr: The Drive of a Birmingham Business Legend” by Barnett Wright which won Best Feature Story Coverage and “Joe Minter: An Artist’s Legacy” by Amarr Croskey, Best Photo Essay.
Second place awards in the NNPA contests were for “Aqeel Glass Has No Ceiling” by freelancer Solomon Crenshaw Jr.; and layout and design by Kacy Sesser Dorne for “Hats Off” and “A New Light” editions, which also received a second place in the APA contest.
Since The Birmingham Times was rebranded in 2016 the media publisher has won nearly 50 journalism awards in national and state contests including 1st place awards for General Excellence; Best Feature Story and Best Layout and Design.
The Birmingham Times was recognized this weekend in these categories:
ALABAMA PRESS ASSOCIATION (APA)
Best Production and Printing
1st Place: The Birmingham Times
Best In-Depth News Coverage
1st Place: The Birmingham Times for “COVID 19 And Birmingham: One Year Later” by Erica Wright and Ameera Stewart
Best Feature Story Coverage
1st Place: The Birmingham Times for “Dr. Jesse J. Lewis Sr: The Drive of a Birmingham Business Legend” by Barnett Wright
Best Photo Essay
1st Place: The Birmingham Times for “Joe Minter: An Artist’s Legacy” by Amarr Croskey
Best Special Section-Newsprint
1st Place: The Birmingham Times for “A History of Black History” by Chandra Sparks Splond, Kathryn Sesser Dorne
Best Layout and Design
2nd Place: The Birmingham Times by staff
General Excellence
3rd place
Best Feature Photo
3rd Place: The Birmingham Times for “Adi Devta Kaur brings yoga to overlooked communities” by Joe Songer
Best Local News Coverage
3rd Place
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION (NNPA)
Emory O Jackson Health Award
1st Place: “COVID 19 And Birmingham: One Year Later” by Erica Wright and Ameera Stewart
Leon W. Washington Special Edition Award
1st Place: “A History of Black History” by Chandra Sparks Splond and Kathryn Sesser Dorne
Don King Sports Award
2nd Place: “Aqeel Glass Has No Ceiling” by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Robert Vann Layout And Design Award
2nd Place: Hats Off and A New Light, April 22 and April 29 editions
Business Award
3rd Place: “Dr. Jesse J. Lewis Sr: The Drive of a Birmingham Business Legend” by Barnett Wright
