The Cassville Democrat newspaper is once again the best small weekly newspaper in Missouri, accepting its seventh Gold Cup in 10 years on Saturday in Springfield.
Kyle Troutman, owner and publisher of the Democrat, said hearing the paper’s name announced as Gold Cup winner was a powerful moment.
“This trophy represents 52 weeks of long hours and sacrifices, but even more so the joy and humbling privilege it is to bring the highest quality news to our slice of the Ozarks in Barry County,” he said. “To win this in my wife Jordan’s and my first year of ownership was an emotional moment, and I could be more proud of the work we do and the community we do it in.”
The Democrat received 33 total awards, including the coveted first place in General Excellence, where three issues of each newspaper is judged as a body of work.
Troutman took first place in Best Editorial and Opinion Pages, Best Editorial Cartoon, Best Front Page, Best Headline Writing, Best News or Feature Obituary, Best Serious Columnist, Best Sports News Story or package, Best Sports Pages, Best Story About the Outdoors, and Multi-Media Reporting.
General Manager Jordan Troutman earned top honors in the Community Service category, and Reporter and Sales Executive took first place in Best Story About Rural Life or Agriculture.
Second-place awards went to Kyle Troutman for Best Editorial Cartoon, Best Humorous Columnist, Best Military Story, Best News or Feature Series, Best Overall Design, Best Sports Feature Story, Best Sports Photograph and Best Story About Government.
Harris received second place in Best Business Story, Best Investigative Reporting, Best News of Feature Obituary and Best Story About Rural Life or Agriculture.
Troutman earned third place in Best Sports Feature Story, Best Sports Columnist, Best Election Story, Best Feature Story and Best Editorial Cartoon. Harris took third in Best News Story, and the Democrat as a paper took third in Community Service and Best Alternative Publication or Magazine.
“In the history of the Cassville Democrat, this is our fourth-best overall performance in a single contest, as we won 63 in 2017 42 in 2018 and 34 in 2016,” Troutman said. “This year’s competition came down to the wire, as the Maryville Forum won about as many awards as we did. However, we scored extra points in three categories that helped push us over the top.
“We started entering this contest each year when I became editor in 2014, first entering in 2015 for the previous year’s body of work. In those last 10 years, the Democrat has won a grand total of 317 awards, seven Gold Cups and two first-place awards in General Excellence.”
Publications may enter their work in more than 40 categories in the annual competition, with point awards for first, second and third place. The winner of the Gold Cup is the publication that has earned the most combined points.
“We do not craft our stories or coverage thinking about awards, but when entry time comes in March and the award luncheon in September, I could not be more proud of the quality of journalism going out or doors week by week and year by year,” Troutman said. “We have consistently been a leader in award-winning journalism in Missouri, and to be able to accomplish such a task in our first year of family ownership makes this year’s trophy even more meaningful to all of us.
“We are so proud of this accomplishment, and we know it would not be possible without the support of our community, our sources and the subjects of the stories we get to tell. We hope to share this award with the community as a testament to how special our small town truly is.”
