The Malheur Enterprise received 16 awards for journalistic excellence in a competition among the state’s small newspapers conducted by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.
A reporting intern who worked at the Enterprise in 2022 won four awards and shared in a fifth. Isaac Wasserman was a multimedia intern at the newspaper as part of the prestigious Snowden program at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon.
Wasserman won first place for best writing, and second place for best feature story, best feature personality and best feature photo.
He also shared a second place in lifestyle coverage with two other interns, Mac Larsen and Cynthia Liu. The three teamed up for an in-depth look at the fentanyl crisis in Malheur County.
The Enterprise was awarded first and second place for its special sections, including its Vale 4th of July Rodeo magazine and its Journey history publication.
Editor Les Zaitz and reporter Pat Caldwell were awarded first place for best enterprise reporting for an article on troubles at the Treasure Valley Reload Center and Zaitz won first place for best editorials for a collection of editorials published in 2022.
Second-place awards were given to Zaitz and Caldwell for best coverage of business for a report on the Nyssa reload center, Caldwell for best writing and best government coverage and Scotta Callister for best headline writing.
Third-place awards were given to the Enterprise for general excellence, Page 1 design by Callister and best feature personality by Liu.
“Such recognition from our peers is rewarding, especially in these challenging times for journalism,” said Zaitz. “Our small team works hard every day to deliver much-needed trusted reporting to the community.”
Zaitz said he is especially proud of the recognition earned by the journalism interns. The Enterprise hosts three to four paid summer interns summer for 10-week stints.
“I tell them on Day 1 that we will treat them as professionals – and that I expect them to perform as professionals. They never disappoint,” he said.
The Argus Observer of Ontario won 10 awards in the news competition among small daily newspapers in Oregon.
In a separate advertising contest, the Enterprise won recognition in four categories. Second place honors went to Marino Forlan, designer, and Rosanne Zueger, advertising sales, for best institutional ad, best merchandising section and best multi-color merchandise ad, and third place for best institutional section.
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