Mississippi Today on Saturday won awards for its investigative reporting, COVID-19 coverage and general excellence at the Mississippi Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

This is the first year the Ridgeland-based online news publication competed in the contest.

Forty-four MPA member newsrooms submitted a total of 1,981 entries in the 2021 editorial division contest. Judging was conducted in the spring by volunteers from the South Carolina Press Association.

Mississippi Today staff members Adam Ganucheau, Geoff Pender, Will Stribling, Kate Royals, Vickie King, Bobby Harrison, Sara DiNatale, Molly Minta and Nigel Dent won the Bill Minor Prize for Investigative Journalism for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Reporters and photographers covered various facets of the pandemic as Delta ripped through Mississippi. Through wide-ranging, compelling reports on low vaccination rates, strains on hospitals, masking in schools and the governor’s response to the pandemic, Mississippi Today served as a go-to source for coronavirus news,” the announcement said.

The news publication also won 3rd place for General Excellence.

Other award winners include:

Geoff Pender, 1st place Bill Minor Prize for General News Reporting, Sexual misconduct allegations led to MDA director John Rounsaville’s resignation

Adam Ganucheau, 1st place, Planned Series, How Philip Gunn Changed the Flag

Kate Royals, 2nd place, Planned Series, Underreported and Underpunished

Sara DiNatale, 2nd place Business News Story, A new hospital crisis: Mississippi will soon lose hundreds of state-funded nurses

Rick Cleveland, 2nd place, Sports News Story, The Greenville Christian Dilemma: A terrific team nobody wants to play

Adam Ganucheau, 2nd place, Commentary Column

Geoff Pender, 3rd place, Commentary Column

The complete list of awards can be found here.

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