Thursday morning on Riverside Drive drum rolls could be heard from the Moonshine office. The reason? The National Newspaper Association announced the 2016 winners of its Better Newspaper Contest. Moonshine proudly accepted second-place awards for Best Feature Series, Best Local News Coverage, and Excellence in Typography. In third-place, Moonshine received awards in the Best Business Category, Best Environmental Story and Best Small page ad with an honorable mention in the Best Humorous Column category.
The Moonshine team is thrilled at the results this year, and blown away by the contest’s emphasis on the importance of journalism today. One judge said “While larger newspapers usually have an edge with larger staffs and more resources, even small newspapers are doing quality work. When it may seem futile to work so hard, I urge newspaper people to keep the faith and keep at keeping at it. What you do does make a difference. No one else is doing or will do it.” A statement Moonshine can whole-heartedly agree with.
From another judge: “I am always impressed with the dedication to community and quality journalism I see among small newspapers when I serve as judge. As a small town newspaper editor myself, I know how challenging it has become to keep up the energy and commitment necessary to keep good journalism alive. I applaud all the entries and congratulate the winners.” A sentiment that makes us gush.
A good paper takes a hella-of-a-lotta teamwork but Moonshine extends special congratulations to award-winning writers Dave Zook, Melissa Siig, Kara Fox, Gretchen Brugman and layout wizards, Lauren Shearer and Mayumi Elegado.
For the full list of stories that took home awards in 2016 see chart below.
| Winner | Class | Class Division | Entry | Credit (s) |
| Second Place | Best Feature Series | Daily & Non-daily Division, circ. less than 6,000 | The Weather Makers | Dave Zook |
| Second Place | Best Local News Coverage | Daily & Non-daily Division, circ. less than 3,000 | March and September editions | Moonshine Team |
| Second Place | Excellence in Typography | Daily & Non-daily Division | April Edition | Lauren Shearer and Mayumi Elegado |
| Third Place | Best Business Story | Non-daily Division, circ. less than 6,000 | Adapt or Die | Melissa Siig |
| Third Place | Best Environmental Story | Daily & Non-daily Division, circ. Less than 9,000 | Eyes on the Keys | Kara Fox |
| Honorable Mention | Best Humorous Colum | Daily & Non-daily Division, circ. less than 3,000 | First Chair, Last Call | Gretchen Brugman |
| Third Place | Best Small Page Ad | Daily & Non-daily division, circ. less than 10,000 | Alpenglow Cleaning Ad | Lauren Shearer and Mayumi Elegado |
