For the fourth fourth straight year, The Boulder Monitor won the award for general excellence as the best small newspaper in the state at the 2024 Montana Newspaper Association’s (MNA) Better Newspaper Contest.
The Monitor’s staff won a total of 25 individual awards, which were announced at the MNA’s annual convention June 21 and 22 in Kalispell.
Among others, former editor Charlie Denison won first place for investigative journalism for his riveting article, “The Reckoning,” which explained the events that led to a hate-based shooting in Basin, and how that incident catalyzed introspection in the community.
Denison also won second place in the breaking news category for his coverage of a bizarre murder-suicide in Boulder.
Publisher Keith Hammonds won the top award in political reporting for his coverage of the controversial and confusing reassessment of property values in the state. And Eliza McLaughlin’s “In the Outdoors” won the prize for best sports and outdoors column writing.
The Monitor also won first place awards for headline writing; page layout and design; graphics; digital presentation; and social media. Its year-end “Lives” issue, a collection of stories about area residents who died in the previous year, won for best special edition. And contributor John Smith won the sports photography category for his shot of the Jefferson High track relay team in action.
The Choteau Acantha won the Thomas Dimsdale Award for the state’s best weekly paper, and the Daily Interlake took the Sam Gilluly Award for best daily paper.
