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Pilot tops division in annual newspaper competition

| June 22, 2022 1:00 AM

The Whitefish Pilot earned 21 awards during the 137th annual convention of the Montana Newspaper Association held last week.

The Pilot was chosen as the top newspaper in the division two category for weekly newspapers with a circulation of between 1,250 and 2,000. The honor is called the general excellence award in the MNA Better Newspaper Contest.

Among the honors, the Pilot staff had nine first-place awards.

Whitefish Pilot Managing Editor Whitney England earned first place for the Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award for her coverage of the endangered whitebark pine tree species. England also received a first-place honor in the Best Sports Story category for the article detailing the Whitefish High School boys soccer team’s fourth-straight state championship as well as first for Best Headline.

England and former editor Heidi Desch combined for first place on the Best Front Page Layout Design that featured the WMR Freestyle Ski team and Desch earned first for Best News Story with an article written about parents protesting the Whitefish School District face mask policy.

The Pilot’s advertising director Jessica Tullos earned first place in two advertising categories including Best Use of Local Photography in an Ad. The advertising department earned several second and third place awards as well.

The Pilot also won awards in Best Lifestyle and Best Education Coverage as well as Best Sports Photography.

Additionally, the Pilot was honored with first in the Best Website category among all the division two weekly newspapers.

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