The Daily Herald wins 1st place in five categories in Tennessee Press Association awards

Staff reports
·2 min read
Columbia's East 8th Street is devoid of activity on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
Columbia's East 8th Street is devoid of activity on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

The Daily Herald won first place in five categories in its division at the Tennessee Press Association Awards on Friday.

The 175-year-old publication won recognition for pieces concentrating on highlighting and preserving Maury County's rich past, while looking toward the future.

The Hoosier State Press Association of Indiana judged 1,130 entries from 67 of the TPA's 133 member newspapers.

Winning coverage included the closing of McDowell Elementary School, the 1946 uprising in the Bottom neighborhood on East 8th Street where  Black residents and business owners rose up against the Tennessee state troopers, who ransacked the neighborhood, and stories about the disparities between development on bustling 7th Street compared to lagging development on East 8th Street.

A row of unoccupied buildings line South Main Street at the intersection of East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
A row of unoccupied buildings line South Main Street at the intersection of East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

The Daily Herald won the top spot in the following categories among papers of its size across the state:

First Place- Group III

Best Education Reporting: Examining the closing of McDowell Elementary School as well as school and county commission budget coverage, lack of teacher raises and school funding struggles

Best Feature Photograph: How to say goodbye: McDowell student Rose Ogilvie-McClain, who led integration in Maury County, returns to closing campus

Best Digital Presentation: 'Forgotten history': Can Columbia's East 8th Street neighborhood be revitalized?

Best News Reporting: 'Forgotten History': The state of 8th Street, past and present

Best Single Feature: How a 1946 dispute over a broken radio in Tennessee helped spark the civil rights movement

Second Place

Best Personal Column: Melvin Taylor, A man of community

Third Place

Best Feature Photograph: 'Change is coming': Pastor says East 8th Street will see rebirth with support from city, youth

A plant grows from the sidewalk on East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Friday, June 11, 2021.
A plant grows from the sidewalk on East 8th Street in Columbia, Tenn., on Friday, June 11, 2021.

The TPA 2022 newspaper contest is co-sponsored by the University of Tennessee System, which has been a part of the annual event since 1940.

Carrie L. Castille, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture senior vice chancellor and senior vice president, presented the awards at the ceremony.

“Our long partnership with TPA reflects our shared commitment to education and accountability to all Tennesseans,” Castille said. “We’re grateful to be able to work with TPA to make that happen.”

In April, The Daily Herald also won two first place awards in the Best of Gannett contest for its coverage of East 8th Street and the Columbia uprising of 1946.

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This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Daily Herald places 1st in five categories in TN Press Association Awards