From staff reports
Staff members of The Meridian Star claimed four prizes Saturday at the Mississippi Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.
The awards luncheon was held in Biloxi at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, ending the MPA’s three-day annual conference.
Meridian Star Editor Fredie Carmichael won first place as the top Commentary Columnist — a body of work award. The judges singled out Carmichael’s column “The profound words of Dr. King will never die.” Carmichael’s columns beat out writers from the Natchez Democrat, Vicksburg Post, Enterprise-Journal and other newspapers in the midsize daily division of papers between 10,000 and 20,000 average daily circulation.
Meridian Star Sports Editor Rocky Higginbotham won first place for a story about the Noxubee County high school football championship. The story appeared in The Beacon (Macon) and won in the midsize weekly division, beating out stories written by writers from the Southern Sentinel and The Sun Sentinel. Higginbotham also claimed a second place award in the midsize daily division for a game story about Southeast Lauderdale’s basketball championship.
Managing Editor Steve Gillespie won a third place award for the Best General Interest Columnist in the midsize daily division — also a body of work category.
Former Star staff writer Chris Allen Baker, now at The Scott County Times, a weekly newspaper, won the MPA’s top award, the Bill Minor Award. His award was for the reporting of a 4-year-old in Ludlow who was starved to death.
The general excellence award went to the state’s largest newspaper, The Clarion Ledger.
Local News
Star staffers claim four prizes at MPA
Higginbotham, Carmichael claim first place awards
- Local News
-
- Partnership in place for safety blitz
-
Keeping time with the Disabled American Veterans
When you are responsible for transporting area veterans to Jackson to meet their medical appointments, you better be on time.
-
Morning update for, Friday, May 25, 2012
-
Celebrating Jimmie
- Feed your mind at Nexus Hero Brown Bag Lunch
-
Man faces kidnapping charges
-
Classroom Visit
-
The Drought Is Over
All Mason Irby was hoping for was to find a way on base.
The Southeast Lauderdale sophomore did that and so much more. Irby's single with two outs in the seventh inning broke a tie, lifting the Tigers to a 6-3 MHSAA Class 3A state championship win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday, and handing Southeast (32-7) its first title since 1966. -
Ronald McDonald House charity event scheduled
A 54-hole golf tournament is coming to Briarwood Country Club on June 26-29. The Emerald Coast Golf Tour will hold their Pro-Am Classic here in Meridian, but in addition to this all proceeds will go to a great cause – The Ronald McDonald House.
-
UBS in urgent need of blood
Due to unforeseen circumstances this month, United Blood Services has had some drives cancel, leaving the local hospitals at a critical shortage of blood.
- More Local News Headlines

