Awards

Oct. 3, 2010

Northern Express takes high honors in MPA press contest
Independent alternative Northern Express Weekly took a number of
significant prizes in the 2010 Michigan Press Association contest,
earning the most awards in the paper’s nearly 20-year history.
With a weekly distribution of up to 33,000 papers in a 13-county area
in northwestern Michigan, the Northern Express was in the MPA’s weekly
“B” class, earning the following:

• General Excellence - 2nd place
• Design - 2nd place
• News Enterprise Reporting - 1st place for reporter Anne Stanton’s
story “Doubt,” on Anne Avery-Miller suspected of killing her son.
• Feature Story -- 1st place for reporter Erin Crowell’s story on a
young female undertaker.
• Local column -- 3rd place for Robert Downes’ Random Thoughts.
• Life Style Section -- Honorable Mention

On the advertising side of the contest, the Express earned the following:

Best Ad Idea:
• 2nd Place - Posh Pet Boutique
• 3rd - Place Threads
Best Color Idea:
• 2nd Place - Hanna Bistro Bar
Best promotional Ad:
• 1st Place - Upcoming Issue
• 2nd Place - Bikes, Boats & Blades

Best Ad Series:
•1st Place - Grandpa Shorters
Best Real Estate Ad:
• 1st Place - Midtown Development

“We’re extremely proud of our staff and their intelligence, drive and
creativity,” said co-publishers George Foster and Robert Downes in a
joint statement. They credited the paper’s success to writers Anne
Stanton, Rick Coates, Erin Crowell, Kristi Kates and Stephen Tuttle,
among others, along with design staff Colleen Zanotti, Kyra Cross and
Kristin Rivard, and ad execs Jan Staycer, Kathy Johnson, Peg Muzzall
and Randy Sills, with office manager Lynn Gerow and circulation
manager Matt Malpass rounding out the Express team in addition to many
talented freelancers.
Despite Michigan’s depression-level economy and downturns for most of
the state’s newspapers, the Express is also on track for its best
financial year ever, with revenues up 11% over 2009.
Continued growth for Northern Express has meant hiring a new full-time
reporter this year in addition to taking on several new freelance
columnists and feature writers.
Publishers Downes and Foster note that Northern Express Weekly is one
of the few remaining independent, locally-owned newspapers in
Michigan, contributing much to the paper’s success. The Express will
celebrate its 20th year in May, 2011.