Eagle soars over Montana weeklies

For the fourth consecutive year, the Bigfork Eagle was named the top weekly newspaper in the state by the Montana Newspaper Association.

At the 2004 Better Newspaper Contest award presentations in Dillon over the weekend the Eagle earned a total of 18 first-place honors, including the Thomas Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award for best weekly paper.

"A first-class publication that boasts a small town does not necessarily deserve a small-minded newspaper," stated judge Tom Grote from The Star-News in Idaho.

"The Eagle strives for top-drawer photography, writing, layout, design, editing and story selection. Because of its philosophy, the readers of the Eagle are truly in touch with their community," he added.

The Missoulian earned top billing for daily newspapers in the state during the awards ceremony.

The Bigfork Eagle earned the following first-place awards for work completed in 2004:

?Best front page

?Best editorial page

?Best editorial writing-Katherine Head

?Best in-depth reporting-Paul Peters

?Best business/financial reporting-Russ Miller

?Best sports pages

?Best sports event coverage-Sam Kaufman

?Best spot news picture-Sam Kaufman

?Best sports picture-Sam Kaufman

?Best single ad (non-color)

?Best single ad (process color)

?Best advertising series

?Best small space advertising

?Excellence in design, presentation and use of photos

?Community service-Paul Peters and Katherine Head

?General excellence

?Best on-line news product

?Thomas Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award

The Bigfork Eagle also earned 14 second-place awards, six third-place awards and five honorable mentions.

"I am so proud of my staff," Bigfork Eagle Editor Katherine Head said. "We work endless hours to provide our community with a paper they can be proud of, and these awards are an incentive for us to keep striving for that goal."