The Cordova Times named best Alaska weekly for 2nd year running

Paper awarded for design, Facebook page, COVID-19 coverage

(May 2, 2021) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

At its annual awards ceremony, the Alaska Press Club named The Cordova Times Alaska’s best weekly newspaper for the second year running, and recognized the paper for its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Judge Christina Myer, who selected The Cordova Times in the category of Best Weekly Newspaper, praised the paper for its sharp design and for providing an informative mixture of long-form and shorter news stories.

The Cordova Times also won first place in the category of Best Comprehensive Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic for a series of articles by editor Zachary Snowdon Smith and fisheries reporter Margaret Bauman.

“I wanted to read this paper more,” wrote judge Brian McCrone. “Be proud of this service.”

Former Cordova Times editor Annette Potter took second place in the category of Best Page Layout and Design. Cordova Chronicles author Dick Shellhorn was awarded first place in the Best Humor category for “Order in the court,” a column relating the story of a boat mechanic’s futile attempt to avoid jury duty. Judge Justin Hinkley praised Shellhorn for making the reader chuckle “without going for the easy laughs.”

At the 2019 Alaska Press Club Awards, The Cordova Times was also named best weekly newspaper and received awards in the categories of Best Page Layout and Design, and Best Humor, among other categories.

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Bauman thanked former Cordova Times owner and editor Jennifer Gibbins for having purchased the paper from Alaska Newspapers, Inc., prior to the paper’s acquisition by Native Village of Eyak. Gibbins’s foresight ensured the ongoing existence of the paper, Bauman said. Gibbins is now executive director of Homer’s Pratt Museum.

The May 15, 2020 issue of The Cordova Times that won the paper second place in the category of Best Page Layout and Design at the 2020 Alaska Press Club Awards.

A comprehensive list of awards won by The Cordova Times at the 2020 Alaska Press Club Awards includes:

  • First place, Best Weekly Newspaper (small and large circulation) – The Cordova Times; Margaret Bauman, Vivian Kennedy, Annette Potter, Dick Shellhorn, Zachary Snowdon Smith
  • First place, Best Comprehensive Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic (all media) – The Cordova Times; Margaret Bauman, Zachary Snowdon Smith
  • First place, Best Humor (all media) – Cordova Chronicles: “Order in the court”; Dick Shellhorn
  • Second place, Best Page Layout and Design (small and large circulation) – The Cordova Times; Annette Potter
  • Third place, Best Social Media Presence (all media) – The Cordova Times Facebook page; Margaret Bauman, Vivian Kennedy, Annette Potter, Zachary Snowdon Smith

A list of all 2020 Alaska Press Club Awards results, along with comments from judges, can be found at cdv.tiny.us/pressclub2020.

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