The Northwestern wins 11 statewide journalism awards, including a first place for local government reporting
OSHKOSH — The Northwestern, Oshkosh’s daily newspaper, earned 11 statewide journalism awards including a first-place honor for its reporting on local government in the 2023 Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest.
The awards were presented March 16 in Madison. The newspaper competes in Division B with newspapers of daily circulation of less than 9,999.
The 2023 contest received 2,144 entries from 102 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, and were judged by members of the Kentucky Press Association.
Bremen Keasey earned a first place for reporting on local government.
Reporter Bremen Keasey, who departed the newspaper in April 2023, won first place in the Reporting on Local Government category.
The judge wrote of his work: “Bremen did an excellent job of not only covering city government, but doing it in a way that is interesting and accessible to readers who don’t already have skin in the game. These stories were interesting, and that’s not an easy feat when covering city government.”
The paper earned second-place honors for Local Column, Reporting on Local Education and Sports Action photo.
News assistant Mara Wegner earned a second place in the Local Column category for her “Weekly dose” columns “‘Situation is growing dire,’ says Oshkosh Area Humane Society amid drop in pet adoptions,” “Oshkosh police mourn passing of K9 Lando, who helped seize drugs and $25,974 in currency” and “Former Omro resident posthumously awarded for heroism during World War II.”
“Great use of this column to cover important local news,” the judge wrote. “The photography is really eye-catching, especially for the first entry. I would be proud to live in a community that put out quality news such as this. Well Done!”
Keasey earned a second place in the Reporting on Local Education category.
“Good reporting, strong writing,” the judge wrote. “Great ledes (first paragraph of the story) that tell the story but make readers want to keep reading. If I’m a parent in this district, I like the way I’m getting my education news.”
Photographer Bill Glasheen earned a second place in the Sports Action Photo category for his photo of high school softball titled “Pitcher’s eye.”
“A unique shot that you don’t see every day as far as softball is concerned,” the judge wrote. “Plenty of photos out there of windups and/or deliveries from the pitching circle, but the timing of this one definitely sets it apart.”
Third-place awards were earned for enterprise reporting, photography, news reporting and investigative reporting.
Keasey earned three third-place awards. One was in the Enterprise/Interpretive Reporting for his story “70 years in, this fly-in is officially 'AirVenture,' but most just call it 'Oshkosh.' Here's why.”
“Good history, good use of quotes made this a fun read ...,” the judge wrote. “I love learning something when I read good journalism. I learned a lot from this.”
Keasey also took third in the General News Story category for his story "Oshkosh Area Humane Society 'desperately' seeking help after exceeding cat capacity, 300% increase in impounded animals."
He also took third place in Investigative Reporting for his article “Winnebago County official hired despite workplace misconduct history, then accused of telling county employee he would ‘pee’ on her.”
Glasheen earned a third place in the General News Photo category for his courtroom photo of a former Oshkosh West student being sentenced for a 2019 attack on a school resource officer.
“Such a simple photo, but taken at the perfect time to make you immediately feel for the people on both sides of this story,” the judge wrote. “It’s hard to capture emotion this well.”
Glasheen also teamed with fellow USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin photographers Seeger Gray and Tork Mason for a third place in the Visual Storytelling category for their coverage of the EAA AirVenture fly-in.
“Amazing photos that helped tell the story of the air show,” the judge wrote of the EAA photo gallery. “I especially liked the last photo of the Mustangs with the F22.”
The paper received honorable mentions for education reporting and sports feature photo.
Editor Brandon Reid earned an honorable mention in the Reporting on Local Education category and Glasheen won an honorable mention for Sports Feature Photo.
“Simple, basic information presented clearly and concisely, which is a big plus in education reporting,” the judge wrote of Reid’s education articles.
Glasheen’s photo was of a state track victory. The judge wrote, “Power and intensity are both displayed in this finish-line photo.”
Our impact: Wisconsin journalists made a difference in the communities they covered in 2023. Here's how
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin won three awards.
Dating to its first issue published Jan. 6, 1868, the Northwestern is one of Winnebago County’s oldest businesses. Today, the newspaper is part of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, which also includes daily newsrooms in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Manitowoc, Marshfield, Sheboygan, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is also part of the news group.
In addition to the Northwestern's 11 awards, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin won three awards, including one first place:
First place: Becky Jacobs in the Business Coverage category;
Second place: Staff in the Community Engagement Award category for the “Stock the Shelves” campaign; and
Third place: Staff in the Ongoing/Extended Coverage category for the “Families Matter” series.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: The Northwestern newspaper of Oshkosh wins WNA journalism awards
