Telluride Local Media won nine Colorado Press Association (CPA) awards over the weekend for work completed in 2021, as the state organization held its first in-person event since the pandemic began in Denver by recognizing some of the best advertising, writing, photography and design in Colorado journalism. The Telluride Daily Planet and Telluride Local Media’s Shelter magazine were among the winners of this year’s Better News Media contest.
The company’s top awards were for best ad campaign for real estate agent Patrick Pelisson (designed by Daily Planet staff and layout artist Casey Nay), best digital ad for the company’s Midweek Review e-newsletter (l ‘Associate Editor Maureen Pelisson and Marketing and Digital Specialists Lea Battey and Charity Banker), Best Humorous Writing for Editor Justin Criado’s The Chopping Block and Best Serious Writing for The Groove Abides, Associate Editor Suzanne Cheavens. The runner-up awards were for Best Advertising Campaign for Siam Restaurant (Account Manager Dusty Atherton and Layout Artist Rick Bickhart), Best Digital Ad for Juju & Damon Window Washing (Production Manager Hanah Ausencio and Representative of Classifieds Heather Brown), Best Cover Design for Shelter Magazine of 2021 (Pelisson and Bickhart), and Best Serious and Sports Column Writing for Criado’s The Chopping Block.
Telluride local media editor Andrew Mirrington praised the staff’s efforts and continued efforts to consistently create an award-winning product.
“This is a particularly gratifying list of awards for The Daily Planet, as this year all of our departments are represented – editorial, advertising and production,” he said. “We have a very talented team at the moment. Most Planet staff have been with us for many years and continue to get better and better at what they do.
This year’s contest was judged by the Michigan Press Association, while the winners were announced at an awards ceremony at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, on Saturday night. Other CPA convention events took place at the Buell Public Media Center, Lowry Conference Center and Stanley Marketplace, and included professional panels and workshops, networking opportunities and panel discussions.
Being recognized by your peers is always special, added Mirrington.
“The Colorado Press Awards are meaningful because they’re determined by fellow journalists across the country. It’s a great pat on the back for our little team,” he said.
Over the past five years, Telluride Local Media has won dozens of CPA awards, including three consecutive Advertising Excellence Awards from 2018-2020. The award annually recognizes the news organization with the most first and second places in each respective category.
Mirrington acknowledged that all accolades would be in vain if it weren’t for the readers and partners who make such a community newspaper possible.
“Beyond the awards, we are very grateful to our readers and advertisers who support us in our efforts to be an indispensable newspaper for the community,” he added.
Criado echoed that sentiment and applauded the company for continuing its mission to deliver top-notch content to its readers, especially during the latter years of the pandemic.
“It’s truly inspiring to be part of a team that strives to create the best possible product for a readership that cares about the community events we cover, day in and day out,” he said. “As for us in the editorial, keep reading, and we’ll keep writing.”