The Springfield News-Leader won five first-place awards in the Missouri Press Association’s 2025 Better Newspaper Contest.
The top placings were among the 18 awards the team won at the Sept. 13 awards luncheon during MPA’s 159th annual convention in Wildwood.
The News-Leader won first place for best overall design, and third place for best front page and general excellence in the contest tier that includes the state’s largest daily news organizations. The newspaper also won second place in headline writing.
Advertisement
Advertisement
In addition to overall staff awards, six journalists were singled out for individual prizes.
Marta Mieze, who covers local government, won six awards. Photojournalist Nathan Papes and reporters Susan Szuch and Claudette Riley each won two awards. Szuch covers health and food and Riley covers education.
Freelance reporter Hope Davis and reporter Greta Cross, now at USA Today, were also recognized. Davis won second place in community service for Share Your Christmas 2024.
Papes won second place in the sports photography and third place in news photography.
Missouri State Bears wide receiver Hunter Wood (2) dives into the end zone for a touchdown as the Bears took on the Southern Illinois Salukis at Plaster Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
In addition to best overall design, here are the other first-place wins:
Advertisement
Advertisement
Other winning stories include:
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: News-Leader staff wins 18 awards from Missouri Press Association