Daily Journal named state's best large-division news organization by Mississippi Press Association
General Excellence
The Daily Journal has received the Mississippi Press Association's General Excellence award for large-division news organizations for its reporting and design work in 2025.
TUPELO - The Daily Journal and its team of writers, photographers and designers earned 35 awards, plus the coveted prize for General Excellence, during the Mississippi Press Association's 2025 Better Newspaper Contest.
The awards were presented during the MPA's 160th Annual Meeting, held over the weekend of June 26 at the Golden Nugget Casino and Resort in Biloxi. The event drew journalists, editors and others within Mississippi's media industry together to gain new insight into the media landscape and celebrate the hard work of local journalists throughout 2025.
This year's Better Newspaper Contest included 1,801 entries from 39 MPA member newsrooms, according to information provided by the Mississippi Press Association. Judging was conducted by volunteers with press associations from across the country.
Daily Journal first-place winners included the following:
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Managing Editor Adam Armour, whose headlines for coverage of rising beef prices ("Moo money") and meteorologist Matt Laubhan leaving WTVA to found MS Live Weather ("Change in the weather") earned the award for Best Headline; and whose Oct. 18 column, "Dreading a ride on the broken Ferris wheel," won Best General Interest Column
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Columnist Raymond Barranco, an MSU professor who writes regularly for the Daily Journal's opinion page, won Best Commentary Column for his essays about the U.S. political system and the discourse around it
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Culture Editor Leslie Criss won Best Magazine Feature for her story on Oxford painter Charley Buckley for Mud & Magnolias magazine
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Sports Editor Brad Locke, whose story on Guntown's Pine Ridge Speedway was selected as Best Sports Feature
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Ole Miss beat reporter Michael Katz, who won Best Game Story for his coverage of Ole Miss' loss to Murray State
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Designer David Johnson, whose work with Sports Editor Brad Locke on a special section celebrating the Lady Golden Wave's championship title, won Best Special Section
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Photographer Adam Robison, whose photos of hula hoopers marching in the Tupelo Reed's Annual Christmas Parade and Daily Journal Player of the Year Landon Harmon won Best General News Photo and Best Personality Portrait respectively
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Mud & Magnolias magazine, which was selected as 2025's Best Magazine Periodical, with judges praising its design, writing and photography
The Daily Journal was also named winner of the MPA's prestigious General Excellence award among large-division publications. The award is given annually using a system that gives points based on placements in individual categories to assign an overall score and determine a winner among similarly sized publications. The Daily Journal is in Category A, the designation for the largest publications within the Mississippi Press Association.
MPA Winners
MPA Winners
Daily Journal – General Excellence, 2nd Place Design, 2nd Place Front Page, 2nd Place Editorial Page, 2nd Place Editorial, Honorable Mention Best Sports Page
Mud & Magnolias – 1st Place Magazine Periodical
Adam Armour – 1st Place Headline; 1st Place General Interest Column; 2nd Place Editorial Page; 3rd Place Lede
Raymond Barranco – 1st Place Commentary Column; 3rd Place Commentary Column
Amanda Burden – 3rd Place News Package
Leslie Criss – 1st Place Magazine Feature; 3rd Place News Package
David Johnson – 1st Place Special Section; 2nd Place Special Section; 3rd Place Special Section; Honorable Mention Best Sports Page
Michael Katz – 1st Place Game Story
Brad Locke – 1st Place Special Section; 2nd Place Special Section; 2nd Place Sports Column; Honorable Mention General Interest Column; Honorable Mention Best Sports Page
Caleb McCluskey – 2nd Place General Interest Column; 2nd Place Magazine Feature
William Moore – 3rd Place General News Story; 3rd Place Magazine Feature
Adam Robinson – 1st Place General News Photo; 1st Place Personality Portrait; 3rd Place Feature Photo, Honorable Mention Feature Photo; Honorable Mention Sports Feature Photo; Honorable Mention Personality Portrait
Dennis Seid – 3rd Place Special Section
Thomas Wells – 2nd Place Spot News Photo; 2nd Place Sports Feature Photo; 2nd Place Sports Action Photo; 2nd Place Feature Photo; 2nd Place Personality Portrait; 3rd Place News Package; 3rd Place Personality Portrait
Publisher and CEO Eddie Blakeley commended the Daily Journal staff's commitment to rigorous and transparent local journalism.
"Mississippi is home to many outstanding newspapers, and earning General Excellence as the top large-division newspaper is a testament to our team's hard work and dedication," Blakeley said. "In today's rapidly changing media landscape, we remain dedicated to providing dependable local news. Each day, our staff comes to work focused on one goal: delivering news and information that reflects the wants and needs of our readers. This award helps validate our commitment to achieving that goal."
Since 2018, the Daily Journal has won a total of seven General Excellence awards, including a six-win run from 2018 until 2023.
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