The Augusta Press (TAP) team received 14 awards Friday night at the annual Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest Awards at Jekyll Island.
The annual event celebrates excellence in the newspaper industry and showcases the work of journalists and staff from publications across the state of Georgia.
“We have a superb staff, especially for a small paper that’s not even five years old,” said Executive Editor Debbie Van Tuyll. “I’m so proud of each and every one of them and also of what we’ve accomplished in the last four-and-a-half years.”
Staff member Scott Hudson walked away with a second place award in the serious column category, and said: “I am very proud of our team. It’s hard to believe that TAP has been Augusta’s leading source for unbiased news and great commentary for almost five years!”
“I’m very honored to receive second place for Spot News Photograph and third place for News Photography from the Georgia Press Awards,” said Managing Editor Stephanie Hill. “I’m also immensely proud of our staff and all their hard work last year.”
A full list of awards received by The Augusta Press include:
- Storm update: Later curfew, power outages continue
- Augusta awards two more golden parachutes
- ‘This is our legacy’: Greene Street tree removals shock residents
“Susan’s entry embodies the best of community journalism. Written with authority and clarity, she reports on topics that truly matter to readers, be it an important financial government watchdog story, nuts-and-bolts storm coverage or efforts to save local trees, her topics are interesting and likely talkers in the community,” said the comments from the judges.
Publisher Joe Edge and staff members received second place in Community Service for multiple stories on the Richmond County Board of Education Police cheating scandal.
“Good job of battling with closed door mentality,” said the judges.
Edge also won second place in Investigative Reporting for his stories on the Richmond County Board of Education Police cheating scandal. Those stories include:
- RCBOE police department embroiled in cheating scandal
- Whistleblower alleges retaliation in RCSS cheating scandal
- Police Scandal: Retaliation against officer who reported cheating scheme included reassignment
“Good accountability coverage of a cheating scandal that readers probably would not have known about without this newspaper’s reporting. Good work serving your readers!” said the judges.
The Augusta Press swept the News Photograph Category by taking first, second and third place. Erin Weeks took first and 2nd second place in the News Photograph category for her photographs of the crowds that gathered to see President Donald Trump when he visited Columbia County in October 2024 following Hurricane Helene hitting the CSRA. A photograph of a man standing on a ladder holding took 1st place.
This photo by Erin Weeks of a child in the crowd of people gathering to see Donald Trump during his October 2024 visit took 2nd place in the News Photograph category.
Stephanie Hill took third place in the News Photograph category with this photograph of a Lakeside High School graduate waving to family members during the 2024 graduation.
Stephanie Hill took second place in the Spot News Photograph category with her photograph of the Northern Lights making an appearance in the CSRA.
“The judges were going back and forth on picking this Norther Lights photo for second place. But we agreed it was a rare news event to witness, and the photographer did a nice grab capturing the awesome color of the aura,” said the comments from the judges.
Randy Pace took second place in the Photo Essay for his photographs of the 2024 USA Cycling Masters & Junior Road National Championships.
“Excellent photos, good eye for capturing the action and also the other things going around at the same time. Good depth and technique all around,” said the judges.
The Augusta Press staff took third place in the Photo Essay category for their coverage of the 2024 Augusta Airshow.
“Fantastic group of photos that show superior skills to capture what has to be a tough target. Well done,” said the judges.
Scott Hudson took second place in Serious Column for the following columns:
- Column: Why Augusta needs a change to the charter
- Column: Fishing for the Truth
- Column: An act of desperation
“A good rundown of local issues from a watchdog perspective,” said the judges.
Hubert van Tuyll took third place in Serious Column for the following columns:
“Columns are informative and even-handed,” said the judges.
The Augusta Press took second place in Sports Coverage for high school basketball coverage by Blythe Keisler and Gabriel Stovall for the following stories:
- Lakeside boys basketball optimistic for season once full roster returns
- Lakeside girls basketball flexes muscles against Westside in rout
- Westside boys basketball coach Jerry Hunter is talking about ‘practice’ after Tuesday’s rout of Lakeside
Justin Gray took third place in Sports Coverage for the following stories:
- Burke County coach Franklin Stephens praises team’s ‘want-to’ in Thomson win
- Here’s how Lakeside football is preparing to play its third game in eight days
- Midland Valley football’s ‘tough times’ have made them better, prepped for postseason run.
Gabriel Stovall took second place in Sports Feature Story for the following stories:
