The Marietta Daily Journal earned 32 awards for its local journalism in the 2026 Georgia Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, including a second place finish in the General Excellence category and first place wins in education writing, sports section and...
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The Marietta Daily Journal earned 32 awards for its local journalism in the 2026 Georgia Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, including a second place finish in the General Excellence category and first place wins in education writing, sports section and enterprise reporting.
The awards were announced Friday night at the 139th Georgia Press Association convention at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.
Competing in the Daily Newspaper category, the MDJ also earned first place wins for front page design, special issues, lifestyle and humorous columns, magazine commentary and several photography categories.
The MDJ finished second in general excellence behind The Brunswick News and ahead of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
MDJ sister publications were well represented. Times-Journal, Inc. newspapers including the MDJ, Rome News-Tribune, Cherokee Tribune, Calhoun Times, Gwinnett Daily Post, Clayton News, The Catoosa County News, Rockdale Citizen/Newton Citizen, Morgan County Citizen, Jackson Progress-Argus, Walker County Messenger, Polk County Standard Journal and Henry Herald combined for 84 awards.
♦ General Excellence second place — Marietta Daily Journal
♦ Local News Coverage second place — Marietta ♦ Daily Journal
♦ Sports Section first place — Marietta Daily Journal
♦ Editorial Page second place — Damon Poirier and Philip Clements
♦ Headline Writing third place — Madison Lee
♦ Special Issues first place — Marietta Daily Journal, Madison Lee
♦ Business Writing second place — Isabelle Manders
♦ Religion Writing second place — Jack Lindner
♦ Religion Writing third place — Hunter Riggall
♦ Education Writing first place — Isabelle Manders
♦ Education Writing second place — Jack Lindner
♦ News Photograph first place — Jack Lindner
♦ News Photograph third place — Robin Rayne
♦ Feature Photograph second place — Robin Rayne
♦ Serious Column second place — Tom Greene
♦ Humorous Column first place — Dick Yarbrough
♦ Lifestyle/Feature Column first place — Damon Poirier
♦ Enterprise Story first place — Hunter Riggall
♦ Best Photo Gallery on a Newspaper Website second place — Robin Rayne
♦ Best Web Photo first place — Robin Rayne
♦ Magazine Product second place — Marietta Daily Journal
♦ Magazine Story third place — Logan Gordon
♦ Magazine Commentary first place — Terri Bunten Guthrie
♦ Magazine Photography second place — Robin Rayne
♦ Magazine Human Interest Story second place — Ashly Hospodka
♦ Magazine Human Interest Story third place — Logan Gordon
♦ Magazine Business Feature second place — Logan Gordon
♦ Magazine Themed Issue first place — Marietta Daily Journal
♦ Center for Integrity in News Reporting, Division A first place, overall first place — Hunter Riggall
What a great honor. Keep up the great work. I love the paper
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