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The Carroll County News placed second for general excellence among smaller weekly newspapers in the Arkansas Press Association’s 2025 Better Newspaper Editorial Contest.
In addition to the overall honor, CCN also won 19 individual awards, including three first-place honors in the smaller weeklies division.
CCN’s sister newspaper, the Eureka Springs Times-Echo, won eight individual awards in the Larger Weeklies division, including three firstplace awards.
The awards were announced Saturday, June 28, at the Tristate Press Convention at the Hilton Memphis.
“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to continue producing quality newspapers in Carroll County,” said Scott Loftis, the editor, publisher and majority owner of Carroll County Community Media LLC, which publishes both CCN and the Times-Echo. “The environment right now is difficult for small newspapers, economically and otherwise. A lot of communities are losing their newspapers. But we are committed to keeping local newspapers in Carroll County and we’re committed to making sure those newspapers meet our mission of keeping our readers informed about what’s going on in their communities. I’m grateful for our staff, our readers and our advertisers and supporters for everything they do to help us meet that mission.”
The second-place finish in the general excellence category broke CCN’s streak of five consecutive firstplace awards. CCN had won the general excellence honor seven times in the previous eight years. The newspaper has now placed among the top three for general excellence for nine consecutive years.
“I’m competitive, and I’m passionate about our newspapers,” Loftis said. “But I also recognize that our state is blessed with some outstanding newspapers, and I’m thrilled to see other publishers showing that same kind of passion. A rising tide lifts all boats. Hats off to publisher Andrew Bagley and the Helena World for a well-deserved honor.
“Still, having said that, I’m even more motivated now to work harder than ever and get back on top.”
Loftis won first place in the smaller weekly division for Beat Reporter, Best Front Page Design and Best Sports News Story in the Carroll County News. He took first place in the larger weekly division for Picture Page/Photo Essay in the Times-Echo.
Reporter Rick Harvey won first place in the larger weekly division for Beat Reporter and Education Story, both in the Times-Echo.
Loftis and Harvey shared second place for News Story among smaller weeklies.
Harvey won second place for Arkansas Freedom of Information Reporting among larger weeklies, while Loftis took third place in that category in smaller weeklies.
In addition to first place for Sports News Story in smaller weeklies, Loftis also took second place in that category. He also won second place for Business Story and Sports Column in the smaller weekly division and took third place for General Interest Column. In the Columnist of the Year category for smaller weeklies, Loftis won third place. Photographer Charles Chappell won both second and third place for Single Sports Action Photo in smaller weeklies, while David Bell won third place for Single Feature Photo in smaller weeklies.
Loftis and Chappell won second place for Picture Page/Photo Essay in smaller weeklies and Loftis also earned honorable mention honors in the same category.
Loftis tied for third place in Front Page Design among larger weeklies and took third place in Graphic Design Portfolio among both smaller and larger weeklies. He won third place for headline writing in both divisions, as well, and also received an honorable mention in that category for smaller weeklies.
Julia Borkowski won third place for Digital Presence & Audience Engagement among smaller weeklies.
Cyd King won honorable mention in the Freelance Recognition category for larger weeklies.
“Probably the thing I’m most proud of is the diversity of awards we received,” Loftis said. “We have a very small staff but I believe we do a lot of things well. And I was thrilled that we won the beat reporter awards in both divisions. That’s the bread and butter of a newspaper and I was thrilled that our hard work was recognized.”
Newspapers competed in divisions based on their circulation, publishing frequency and APA membership. There were a total of 1,517 entries among five divisions. The contest was judged by members of the Tennessee Press Association.
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