Local coverage receives national recognition

Once judges sifted through more than 1,000 entries from hundreds of newspapers nationwide, The Examiner of Southeast Texas ranked among the top newspapers – lauded with 13 awards, including four first-place plaques, that Publisher Don Dodd brought home from the 137th annual National Newspaper Association Awards Ceremony on Sept. 29 in Washington, D.C.

A review of the winning writings from the national association harkens back to the year 2022, and are the results of Examiner staff spending long, hard hours of reporting, writing, photographing, laying out pages, editing and proofing. Like most community newspapers, The Examiner staff is small – but the product is substantial. As shown in the array of fields earning distinction, The Examiner covers it all – news, non-news, entertainment – information the community relies on to live life.

The national firstplace Best Editorial penned by Dodd, with Managing Editor Jennifer Johnson, garnered the out-ofstate judges’ empathy through a Southeast Texas situation in which even nonlocals can relate. In “West Brook or Breaking Bad?” the exposure of increasing campus violence at West Brook High School in Beaumont prompted the judge to relate to subject matter that hits close to anyone’s home, calling the Publisher’s Editorial a “strong editorial exposing school violence and calling for school administrators to take responsibility.”

Additional Examiner Editorials rounded out the national category for Best Editorial, in third place and with an honorable mention, with judges expressing interest in the failed Ford Park deal in Jefferson County as exposed in “Delusions of grandeur mix with just plain delusions.” In what would be a third-place award-winner, the Editorial details the botched deal worked out to allow a wannabe casino owner out of Port Arthur to purchase the taxpayer-owned Ford Park Entertainment Complex for pennies on the dollar. More than a year passed with the proposed buyer, headed by Kevin Johnson of the bankrupt Renaissance D e v e l o p m e n t , stringing along Jefferson County’s elected leaders while The Examiner continued to expose the reality that did not line-up with Johnson’s assertions. In the end, as the national judge recorded: “Newspaper says ‘I told you so’ over financial deals.”

Managing Editor Johnson, who was granted a first-hand look at the making of a Marine when she attended the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Educator Workshop in San Diego, California, was awarded a firstplace plaque for her coverage of the event.

Johnson’s “Making a Marine: From Top Story to top of the Reaper,” detailed the good, the bad and the ugly of what goes into making a Marine – and touched a chord with readers and the national judge awarding the Best Coverage of Military Affairs title alike.

“Nice writing style with a mix of humor, grit and tenderness,” the judge commented of Johnson’s penmanship.

Humor, grit and tenderness summed up the subject of the article for The Examiner’s first-place-awarded Best Profile Feature Story, too. “Local son soars,” chronicling Brit Featherson’s ascension to the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Texas Department of Justice, was noted by the judge as: “A very well-written, in-depth piece about someone who should be considered a hero among men.

“The writer takes you through an outstanding life of service to humanity and has you understand the person is one worth knowing.”

The fourth first-place plaque awarded to The Examiner was for Best Front Page Design – which gives a nice bow to the finished newspaper content.

“This magazine-like cover design gives readers interesting perspective with its photography and art of the main story, which begins inside,” the judge remarked.

As the “Investigative Newspaper of Southeast Texas,” The Examiner frequently tops the local media awards for investigative articles. In Washington, D.C., The Examiner faired no different, bringing home second and third place national honors for investigative coverage.

The second-place national Best Investigation or In-Depth Story or Series, penned by Johnson, delves into great detail about then-State Representative Joe Deshotel’s official report to Texas Rangers alleging Beaumont felon Mary Bond embarked on a course of blackmail and extortion, threatening the elected official and others with public embarrassment and manufactured criminal allegations if he failed to pay her money. Newly-elected State Representative Christian Manuel Hayes, along with a bevy of victims, also spoke with Johnson about the longtime swindle Bond exacted upon local politicians.

“Not many love politicians and couldn’t care less about seeing justice when one is wronged in a white-collar crime scandal,” the reviewing judge conceded, before indicating that a thorough review of the article took the reader past the disconnect. “Good for seeing past bias and telling it like it is.”

The third-place investigative award was presented for “Detailed data denotes violent incidents at Beaumont schools,” which was the result of staff acquiring facts – instead of just words – to show Beaumont ISD high school and middle school campuses reported 158 unique disciplinary referrals for violent incidents during the first 23 days of school.

“School issues or corrupt school officials are notoriously hard to report due to the power superintendents hold over their personnel,” the judge wrote. “I know parents with children attending this district will be better off from this reporting.”

Entertainment Editor Chad Cooper received a mass of kudos for his work in 2022, bringing home an award for Best Photo Essay in his “Mixtape Tour,” featuring a concert of En Vouge, Rick Astley and New Kids On The Block at the Toyota Center in Houston, as well as a second-place honor for Best Sports Column.

“This would be read with interest by a football die-hard or a casual fan,” the judge wrote of Cooper’s article titled “LU football can be great, again,” about Lamar University’s football program after the departure of head coach Blane Morgan.

And, the awards keep coming, with Examiner articles critically examined by editorial pros ranked superior, including: “Looking back on a life of service,” offering a reflection on the service of longtime lawyer/judge/district attorney Robert “Bob” Wortham; “Vietnam veterans receive warm welcome,” which the judge remarked “did a good job of letting the vets tell their stories;” and “Never forget,” a local- ized national story recounting the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks through the experiences of hometown heroes.

The Examiner is not new to receiving National Newspaper Association trophies and plaques, with a host displayed throughout the office. Last year, The Examiner won 15 honors, including four first-place plaques, and, in 2021, received 13 national awards. The National Newspaper Association judges voted The Examiner as second-best weekly newspaper in the country in 2021, third best in 2019, and first in 2016.