FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Shelby County Reporter won the state’s top editorial and advertising awards June 22 at the Alabama Press Association’s summer convention in Destin, Fla.

The Reporter won General Excellence, the top editorial award, for the seventh consecutive year in the 2013 Better Newspaper Contest. It also won the Advertising Sweepstakes award in the APA’s Advertising Contest.

The Reporter competes in Class C, against other large weekly newspapers.

In addition to general excellence, the Reporter won the following editorial awards:

–First place, Best Public Service, for the newspaper’s sex offender coverage by staff.

–First place, Best Lifestyle Pages.

–First place, Best Local Economic Coverage.

–Second place, Best Layout and Design

–Third place, Best Presswork.

The Reporter also won several awards in the APA’s Web Contest.

– First and second place in Online Breaking News Coverage.

– First place in Best Presentation of Online Advertising.

– First, second and third place in Best Innovative Online Advertising – single ad.

– First place in Best Advertising Campaign.

– First place in Best Online Revenue Builder.

– Second place in General Web Excellence

– Second and third place in Creative Use of Multimedia

– Third place in Continuing Web Coverage.

This year’s competition included 37 editorial categories and eight web categories. The top awards were announced during the summer convention. The Reporter also won 13 other editorial awards and 12 advertising awards, which were announced by the APA in May.

The Kentucky Press Association judged the editorial and advertising entries. Seventy-two newspapers submitted more than 2,668 entries for the Better Newspaper Contest. Thirty-six newspapers submitted 1,036 entries in the Advertising Contest.