The Riverside-Brookfield Landmark took home four first-place awards during the Illinois Press Association’s annual Best of the Press newspaper competition in Bloomington on June 8.
The contest included entries from 2017 in more than 30 categories from newspapers ranging from large dailies like the Chicago Tribune to smaller weekly community newspapers like the Landmark, which competed in the medium-sized non-daily newspaper division.
The Landmark was awarded first place in its division for Best Investigative/Enterprise Reporting for Brett McNeil and Bob Uphues’ two-part series “A street paved with gold/Easy money,” which delved into red-light cameras along Harlem Avenue, particularly at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road, and the company that profits from them.
That two-part series also garnered a first place award in News Reporting-Series, with judges saying, “This story was the most enterprising and had a statewide impact. It also included impressive data that was presented to let readers form their own opinions.”
Uphues’ story “Brookfield gas stations duke it out, again, at the pump” won first place for Business/Economic Reporting, with judges saying it was “the kind of business story that you can’t stop reading.”
That story also earned a third-place award in the News Reporting-Single Story category.
Also taking first place, in the Feature Writing category was Uphues’ story “More than just fun and games,” which profiled Doc Mack, the owner of Galloping Ghost Arcade and his ever expanding business on Ogden Avenue in Brookfield.
The Riverside-Brookfield Landmark was also recognized with a third-place award in the General Excellence category in the medium-sized non-daily newspaper division.
