SPRINGFIELD - The Pantagraph and its Web site were recognized for outstanding achievement Friday, and several newsroom members earned individual awards during the Illinois Press Association's joint meeting with the Illinois Associated Press Editors Association in Springfield.

The newspaper's Web site, www.pantagraph.com, took second place among the state's largest newspapers in both the IPA and AP editorial contests with IPA judges calling the site "very informative. Navigation was excellent, with a nice layout." The Web site also was judged the second best in the state by IPA last year.

"Our users have recognized that we are the No. 1 source for local information on the Web, but it's nice to know that we rank highly against other major newspapers across the state, as evidenced by our placement in both contests," said Online Editor Michael Freimann.

Meanwhile, judges said the newspaper's overall design reflects a "strong use of storytelling" and called the paper "well organized, easy to read."

"It's always gratifying to be judged among the best by your peers. These awards reflect the dedication and hard work of our news staff. They are the ones who continue to produce not only a quality newspaper but one of the best Web sites in the state," said Editor Mark Pickering who also was named president of the state AP board of directors during the two-day conference.

IPA awards

In the IPA contest, judged by members of the Missouri Press Association, photographer Carlos T. Miranda took first place in spot news photography for an image from the Northern Illinois University massacre.

Other winners were: Best lifestyle section, staff, second place; best newspaper design, staff, third place; editorial page, Lenore Sobota, third place; original column, Dan Craft, honorable mention; original column, Bill Flick, second place; sports column, Randy Kindred, second place.

Also, sports photo, David Proeber, third place; illustration, Ryan Denham, honorable mention; single-page design, Troy Clark and Thom Rakestraw, honorable mention; and headline writing, Joe Deacon, honorable mention.

AP awards

In the AP contest, judged by Indiana AP members, reporter M.K. Guetersloh won second place in the investigative category for a story on Bloomington's budget shortfall.

In photography, David Proeber won first- and third-place awards in the illustration category and Lori Ann Cook won third place for a pictorial.

Weekly newspapers

Pantagraph-owned weekly newspapers also received recognition in the following IPA categories:

Heyworth Star: news reporting, single story, first, Troy Semple; feature writing, first, Troy Semple; and original column, third, Troy Semple.

Farmer City Journal: sports feature, honorable mention, Steve Hoffman; third place, feature writing (Steve Hoffman).

Woodford County Journal: local editorial, second, Jason Shults; editorial page, honorable mention; sports section, first, Jeff Wiseman; sports column, first, Jeff Wiseman; business reporting, first and second places, Jerry McDowell; business reporting, third place, Cheryl Wolfe; public's right to know, second place, Jerry McDowell; and community service, honorable mention, Cheryl Wolfe and Laura Rineer.

The Pantagraph, its weeklies, and Pantagraph Publishing Co. are owned by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa, which owns 49 other daily newspapers across the country. In Illinois, its daily newspapers are in Bloomington, Carbondale, Mattoon, Charleston, Decatur, DeKalb and the Quad Cities.