NEW ORLEANS, La. — A number of current and former staff members of the Picayune Item received honors on June 20th at the 149th annual Mississippi Press Association awards banquet as part of the annual Better Newspaper Contest. All awards were given in the Daily C Division.
Managing Editor Jeremy Pittari received first place for Best Editorial, while former staff writer Alexandra Hedrick brought home third place in that same category.
Hedrick also received a third place award in the Spot News category for story on the Stennis strike.
Former sports writer Dart Spiers received first place in the General Interest category for his staff columns. Compositor Debra Howell also placed in that category, bringing home third place for her staff columns.
In the Design category the Item’s staff won third place and in the Headline category the staff won first place.
“Congratulations to all of our winners for their hard work and dedication,” Item Publisher Linda Gilmore said. “We are certainly proud of their efforts.”