The Yazoo Herald brings home 19 awards, including six first place honors, from the Mississippi Press Association’s 156th annual meeting in Memphis.
The Yazoo Herald also placed second in General Excellence.
“I am extremely proud of The Herald’s hard work and dedication to local journalism,” said Publisher Jamie Patterson. “I am honored to bring our 19 awards home to Yazoo, and I look forward to continuing our tradition of exceptional journalism and service to our community. The Yazoo Herald has a long history of providing the news to our readers, and I intend to continue that tradition with my dedicated staff. We might be a small operation, but we are among the best in the state thanks to my committed staff.”
Herald Publisher Jamie Patterson earned first place awards for Best General Interest Column, Best Commentary Column and Best Personality Portrait.
Judges for Jamie Patterson’s general interest columns said “the writer has a quick wit, as well as knack for drawing the reader into their world and leave them wanting more. Some of the best columns I’ve ever had the privilege to judge.”
“After an $11 million error was identified and publicized, the county tax assessor blamed others, the ‘Devil’s influence’ and Yazoo Managing Editor Jamie Patterson, who struck back with this award-winning column; great job,” said the judges for Jamie Patterson’s commentary column.
Former Herald Publisher Jason Patterson earned first place awards for Best Game Story and Best Sports Feature Photograph.
Jason Patterson’s first place award for Best Game Story included his coverage of local athlete Lindsey Hogue capturing the state title with her performance in the Class 3A MAIS Cross Country Meet.
“Writing game stories that aren’t full of stats or scoring plays like in cross country can be hard to do,” the judges said. “But the writer was able to make the story interesting enough that you wanted to read more.”
Both Jamie and Jason Patterson also shared a first place award for Best Pictorial Series.
The complete list of awards earned by The Yazoo Herald for 2020 coverage includes:
First Place
Best General Interest Column: Jamie Patterson
Best Commentary Column: Jamie Patterson
Best Personality Portrait: Jamie Patterson
Best Game Story: Jason Patterson
Best Sports Feature Photograph: Jason Patterson
Best Pictorial Series: Jamie and Jason Patterson
Second Place
General Excellence: The Yazoo Herald
Best In-depth Investigative Coverage: Jamie Patterson
Best Business News Story: Jamie Patterson
Best Editorials: Jamie Patterson
Best Special Section: Jamie Patterson
Best Front Page: Jamie and Jason Patterson
Third Place
Best In-Depth Investigative Coverage: Jamie Patterson
Best Editorials: Jason Patterson
Best Pictorial Series: Jason Patterson
Best Sports Feature Photograph: Jason Patterson
Honorable Mention
Best Website: The Yazoo Herald
