The Alamogordo Daily News received top honors at the 2020 New Mexico Press Association’s (NMPA) Better Newspaper Contest, earning multiple awards that spotlight the publication’s commitment to strong local journalism.
Reporter Nicole Maxwell took home first place in the Daily Class II Breaking News category for her detailed reporting on the abrupt resignation of Alamogordo Police Chief Brian Peete in late 2019. Contest judges praised her work for providing clear, timely coverage of “an administration in chaos,” and commended it for serving the Alamogordo community effectively.
Fellow reporter Cristina Carreon earned second place in two categories. Her ongoing coverage of the transformation of White Sands National Monument into a national park was honored in the Daily Class II Ongoing/Continuing Coverage category. She also earned a nod in the Daily Class II Columns category for her light-hearted and engaging food column, “Let’s taco ‘bout it,” which explored the best taco spots across Otero County.
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Editor Jessica Onsurez was also recognized, winning first place in the Daily Class II Columns category for her thought-provoking opinion piece, “NM needs a real plan to manage waste water, future needs.” The column was part of the Waste to Water series, a collaborative journalism effort spearheaded by the Carlsbad Current-Argus and supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. The piece impressed judges, one of whom admitted to initially doubting the power of editorials in corporate newspapers, but said the column “at least somewhat changed my mind.”
Reflecting on the awards, Onsurez said, “I’m incredibly proud of our team’s dedication to local journalism. These recognitions affirm our mission to provide fair, community-focused reporting on the issues that matter most.”
The winners were announced during a virtual ceremony on Monday. Entries were judged by members of the Arizona Newspaper Association, and winners were selected from work published between July 2019 and June 2020.
The competition divides newspapers into four categories: Weekly 2 (weeklies with circulation under 5,000), Weekly 1 (weeklies with more than 5,000), Daily 2 (dailies under 11,000), and Daily 1 (dailies with circulations above 11,000). The Alamogordo Daily News competed in the Daily Class II division.
