ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis American won 33 statewide awards in a statewide competition against newspapers with a circulation of 5,000 or more, from Missouri Press Association in its 2021 Better Newspaper Contest. The awards include the first place award for general excellence, which The American has won seven times now.
Each year, a different state press association judges the competition. This year, it was the Texas Press Association. The St. Louis American won 10 first place awards, 10 second place awards, nine third place awards and four honorable mentions.
The St. Louis American also won first place from the Missouri Press Advertising & Marketing Executives association for ‘Best Ad Content – Entire Publication’ for all weeklies and dailies in the entire state of Missouri. Earlier this year, The American was the recipient of the Russwurm Award, naming it the top African-American newspaper in the nation, by the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association.
“This is an affirmation of the journalism quality of our mission-driven work that is achieved by a total team effort, from the reception desk to our news room, sales department, design team, accounting and administrative staff,” said Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American “We couldn’t be more proud. We don’t take these awards lightly. These accolades from industry professionals are a testament to the consistent, professional, work we strive to provide for our community.”
The St. Louis American won 10 first place awards, including:
- General Excellence (the seventh time The American has won this first place award)
- Best Local Business Coverage
- Community Service (for its Salute to Excellence annual programs)
- Best News About History (Kenya Vaughn’s piece on the Hyers Sisters)
- Best Sports Package (The American’s special section on the life of Cardinals’ Lou Brock)
- Best Sports Columnist (Alvin A. Reid, his third time winning this award)
- Best Sports Photo (Wiley Price’s photo of athlete Caleb Love)
- Best Sports Feature Story (Earl Austin, Jr. remembers Wes Unseld)
- Best Video (Rebeca Rivas’ video on Salute awardee Dr. Punch)
- Best News or Feature Obituary (Kenya Vaughn & Chris King’s piece on Chadwick Boseman)
Second place awards include:
- Best Video (Rebecca Rivas’ video on Salute awardee Dr. Turner)
- Best Sports Columnist (Earl Austin, Jr.)
- Multi-Media Reporting (The American’s coverage in print/video and online of US. Rep. Cori Bush)
- Best Newspaper In Education Project (The American’s 36-week STEM education page)
- Best Headline Writing (staff)
- Best Newspaper or Feature Obituary (Kenya Vaughn & Chris King’s piece on Wayman Smith)
- Best Investigative Reporting (Rebecca Rivas’ piece on minority inclusion at County morgue)
- Best Page Design (Mike Terhaar’s cover of The American’s Business page)
- Best Overall Design (Mike Terhaar and Melvin Moore)
- Best Feature Photograph (Wiley Price’s Little Drummer from the Annie Malone Parade)
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Third place awards include:
- Best Online Newspaper or Website (stlamerican.com)
- Best Sports Pages
- Best Editorial Pages
- Best Investigative Reporting (Rebecca Rivas’ piece on Mike Avery’s federal case)
- Best Story About the Outdoors (Sophie Hurwitz’s piece on billboards removed from a cemetery)
- Best Story About Education (Rebecca Rivas’ piece titled Feeding Students)
- Best Page Design (Melvin Moore’s cover of the Living It section)
- Best Photo Package (Wiley Price’s titled Ferguson in a time of George Floyd)
- Best Front Page (Mike Terhaar)