The Lakota Country Times won 14 awards at the 2016 South Dakota Newspaper Association Newspaper Contest.. Photo by Lakota Country Times
Strong showing highlights growth of LCT
By Lakota Country Times Staff
www.lakotacountrytimes.com PINE RIDGE—Lakota Country Times has shed its reputation as a small local paper after bringing home 14 awards at the 2016 South Dakota Newspaper Association Newspaper Contest. “I couldn’t be happier with what this newspaper has grown into in such a short amount of time,” said LCT Publisher and Managing Editor Connie Smith. At the 2015 SDNA awards, the Martin based paper where Smith serves as managing editor, salesperson, and newspaper delivery woman had only taken home four awards. This year was very different. “There was a time when we would have just been happy with placing but we are finally beginning to be recognized for our unique ability to provide a service to Native American people both locally and nationally,” said Smith. Despite the fact that LCT only has three regular staff writers and a production team consisting of longtime layout veteran Jason Wolters, and Smith’s daughter, Jenni Giovannetti, the paper has managed to garner nearly 250k followers on Facebook.
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“The reason why we have such a large following is that there is an absence of content out there created by people from reservation communities. With Tim Giago retiring, there was a void left in this industry and the team I work with at Lakota Country Times was finally ready to step up and fill it,” said Brandon Ecoffey, editor of LCT. “There is something to be said about authenticity and about having real relationships with the people who you serve. We write about our family and about people we have grown up with. That perspective cannot be replicated.” BEST NEWS STORY
2nd Place - Karin Eagle BEST NEWS SERIES
2nd - Tom Crash, Brandon Ecoffey BEST FEATURE STORY
3rd - Natalie Hand BEST SPORTS SERIES
2nd - Natalie Hand, Tom Crash BEST SPOT NEWS PHOTO
1st - Jerry Matthews BEST SPOT NEWS PHOTO
2nd - Vi Waln BEST PHOTO SERIES
1st - Randy Bachelor, Shelly Bachelor BEST SPORTS PHOTO
3rd - Jerry Matthews BEST ORIGINAL EDITORIAL Cartoon
1st - Marty Two Bulls BEST SPECIAL ISSUE
1st - Staff NEWSPAPER WEBSITE
2nd - Connie Smith GENERAL EXCELLENCE
2nd - Connie Smith (Contact LCT at ads@lakotacountrytimes.com) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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