Gulf Coast Media's newsroom and graphic design departments took home 20 awards from the Alabama Press Association's news and magazine contests this year.
APA, a nonprofit membership association that advocates for and supports more than 110 of newspapers across the state, holds the contest each year to recognize the best work done by journalists and designers the year prior. Work is judged by peers in other states' press associations.
Gulf Coast Media, which publishes four weekly newspapers — community papers The Courier, The Onlooker, The Islander and countywide The Baldwin Times — and around a dozen magazines, guides and special news editions, earned first place in our division in eight categories, spanning newspaper design, reporting, photography and community engagement.
"We've gone through transformational change in the last two and a half years, and our small staff has adapted to it all while continuing to produce quality local news that our readers need and want to know," said Kayla Green, executive editor. "While we know our readers and community are the north star of our mission, it is always reassuring to be recognized by our peers from around the country."
TOP AWARDS
Melanie LeCroy, lifestyle editor, was awarded first for business reporting for a story on Foley's future first brewery, Blessed Kettle Brewery.
Micah Green, photographer and chief digital officer, won best feature photo for an image of a glass bottle being smashed inside Daphne's new rage room, Shattered LLC. He also won best magazine cover photo for the spring 2023 issue of Beachin' featuring Sandcastle University's Janel Hawkins lying next to a massive turtle she made out of sand.
Cole McNanna, sports editor, earned a win for best sports photo for capturing Gulf Shores High School's Carter Byrd upending a UMS-Wright player.
Gulf Coast Media won first place for overall layout and design of our newspapers, led by McKinzie Daniels and our graphic design department, at the point of the contest period including Jordan Dyess.
Daniels also won for special newsprint section for the commemorative Islander honoring Gulf Shores' first-ever state championship in football, utilizing writing by McNanna and photography by Green.
Daniels and Green led the win in the niche publication category for GCM's 2023-24 edition of Big Beautiful Baldwin, a newcomers and locals guide to the area. The staff award also includes contributions from the newsroom for the content and LeCroy for the food section.
Led by McNanna and Green, GCM won best community event for its campaign to celebrate the Dolphins' state championship, which included hanging out mock front pages of The Islander on the field after the game, spearheading the commemorative edition and hosting a special sale of that newspaper, along with giving away posters made from photos of the title game, at Big Beach Brewing.
MORE RECOGNITIONS
LeCroy earned a second-place nod in feature writing for a story on JD Swiger and his path to opening Swiger Studio in Gulf Shores.
McNanna won second in sports feature writing for a story on football recruiting featuring Foley's Perry Thompson and Gulf Shores' Ronnie Royal; second for use of social media for GCM Sports Instagram and Facebook accounts; third in in-depth sports news coverage for reporting on how high school teams prepare in the offseason; and third for use of long-form video for his interview with Gulf Shores High School during GCM's 2023 Football Media Day.
Former reporter Natalie Williamson earned a second-place nod in in-depth news coverage for her deep dive into the flopped Rockabilly Bama Lama Music Festival in Robertsdale and third place in feature writing for a story about Fairhope's French Quarter cats.
Green notched second in news photo for capturing a mid-air stunt at the Nitro Extreme Motor Show in Foley; second in sports photo for a shot of the Dolphins' Royal diving into the endzone during the state championship; second for magazine photograph for the cover photo of a story about oyster farms in the summer 2023 edition of Beachin'; and third for feature photo of a shadowed shot during the Flora-Bama's Mullet Toss.
Daniels earned third in niche publication for the the 2023 edition of Stay Alert, a hurricane and emergency preparedness guide made in partnership with Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency.
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