After seven years of dedication to Janesville, St. Clair, and the neighboring areas, the Janesville Journal can officially declare itself an award-winning newspaper.
On January 29, the small core of Ricardo, myself, and Tracie attended the 159th Annual MNA Convention & Trade Show at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest. Well, to be specific, we attended the Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet & Gala portion of this three-day who’s who of journalists, investigators, advertisers, and familiar ilk of the media business.
Print journalism may not be the revered profession it once was, but it was uplifting to meet, converse, and schmooze with reporters, editors, and even college-aged freelancers who have chosen this profession amongst all others. From the bigtime publications posting out daily content to regional newspapers retelling the week to a loyal subscriber base, MNA welcomed over 250+ newspapers in one banquet hall to celebrate another year of excellence in journalism.
In 2024, the three of us attended several lectures during the MNA Convention. Although technically, the Journal wasn’t associated with the organization at that time, the lectures ultimately made Ricardo and I better reporters, Tracie a better publisher & advertiser, and the Journal a more accessible paper with our E-Edition. We also had lunch at a respectable dining location called Mad Jacks, but we don’t need to talk more about that place.
Two years later, the Journal was not only an accepted member of MNA, we had been cordially invited to its awards ceremony to receive recognition for my third-place winning Best Sports Feature on Brooklin Hinze. The story, titled Hinze the Hooper detailed the meteoric rise of this former Bulldog turned Cyclone who had become St. Clair basketball’s all-time leading scorer on January 21, 2025. Hinze brings a high level of intensity with everything she does from basketball to track & field, so it was only fitting that the local reporter match that intensity with a lengthy article about her origins as a player, what fuels her fire, and how she strives for further improvement. Since that article, she has reached the 2000-point milestone, been featured as a Strib Varsity Athlete of the Week, and committed to University of Wisconsin Eau Claire in hopes of delivering the same amount of success to the BluGolds.
At the time that story was published, I had no idea it would be considered as one of the top three best in the Best Sports Feature category one year later. It was a thrill to learn about the mentality behind a successful athlete, and I aimed to reflect that excitement and drive with every key stroke. As I received the award, a strong sense of pride and accomplishment washed over me. You don’t join this profession with the pursuit of trophies and awards to fuel you–you do it because you love to tell a story. Writing has come so naturally for me over the course of my life, and writing Hinze’s story felt no different. That’s why it is still so surreal to receive an award for Best Sports Feature.
The award is recognition for personality, hard work, and drive, but this achievement wouldn’t be possible without the support behind the Journal. Since its first issue back in late-2019, Tracie has strived to deliver the news as well as one can in a world filled with misinformation. She may not be a “writer” per se, but her deep understanding of the newspaper business–a business she has spent nearly 40 years in–has helped grow the Argus’ successor into a respected entity that officially represents three towns in the region.
Sure, the writers and editors are the lifeblood of a newspaper’s content, but the publisher is often the missing piece that links everything together and keeps the lights running in the office. Without Tracie, the Journal doesn’t survive longer than your average restaurant in a small town, so for that, I thank her for giving me a chance all those years ago, and entrusting me with the Editor position.
Of course, beyond the publishers, writers, and editors, our subscribers, readers, and advertisers provide the unending source of passion and drive for us at the Journal. In many ways, the Janesville, St. Clair, and neighboring communities present a symbiotic relationship with the newspaper. We report the goings-on, and they slowly but surely trust us to represent their cities from yearly festivals to City Council and School Board meetings. There are even times community members, city workers, or school staff inform us on upcoming events or persons of interest to interview for the sole reason of having it appear in the newspaper.
That’s the small-town feel that builds strong bonds and keeps local businesses thriving…for that we can’t be grateful enough. As we approach our eighth year as your local newspaper, there is still more we can do to provide a more engaging experience. Our dive into an E-Edition and official website brought us into the 21st century, and frankly, the Journal hasn’t looked back and has no intentions of slowing down. Not with me at the helm as Editor.
