By: Sonya Moore Maybe size doesn't matter after all. The Alva (Okla.) Review-Courier -- the smallest daily in Oklahoma, and the sixth smallest daily in the nation, according to the E&P Year Book -- snagged top awards in three out of 12 categories at the Oklahoma Press Association's most recent annual Mid-Winter Conference.
The newspapers in the OPA contest compete in eight different circulation divisions, and with daily circulation approaching 2,000, the Review-Courier (
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Helen Barrett, assignment editor, admits continuous coverage on a daily basis is difficult for a paper servicing a small town with the next nearest concentration of humanity 60 to 70 miles away. "There's not a lot happening in a town of 5,000," Barrett says. "We don't have much hard news here." Even so, Barrett believes that the Review-Courier's efforts to bring well-written news that is interesting to local readers helps set them apart.
"We really work hard trying to achieve a high quality," says Barrett. Just last year the Review-Courier won three OPA top awards and this year received first place for news writing, editorial comment and feature writing. It also took second place in sports coverage and third in personal columns.
Barrett says the Review-Courier doesn't plan to rest on its laurels. Already the newspaper is working to improve the photography department and effectively use the color press they got last year, so it can also be a contender in the photography category. "Yeah, I still want the Sequoyah -- that's our goal," Barrett says of the highest honor given by the OPA.
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