Bridge won 13 awards in the 2019 Michigan Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, including three first-place honors.

Bridge was also a finalist for Newspaper of the Year, competing for the first time this year in the Class A category against the state’s largest newspapers. The Grand Rapids Press won the top prize.

“The annual MPA awards are a reminder of journalism’s crucial role in democracy and civil society in Michigan,” said Bridge President & CEO John Bebow. “We honor and congratulate the hard and excellent work of our professional colleagues across Michigan.”

After earning four straight Newspaper of the Year awards in smaller circulation categories, Bridge requested to compete against the largest statewide newspapers this year. Newspaper of the Year rankings are based on 17 awards categories, ranging from best columnist and news reporting to sports reporting and feature photography. Bridge focuses its coverage on a narrower set of news categories. 

“We hope this signals to all Bridge readers and statewide stakeholders that you can depend on Bridge over the long haul for some of the very best journalism in our great state,” Bebow said. “Bridge continues to grow because of reader and philanthropic support. We couldn’t do it without you.”

Here is the list of Bridge winners, with two stories indicated below that were collaborations with other news organizations:

First place

Second place

Third place

Honorable mention

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under our Republication Guidelines. Questions? Email republishing@bridgemi.com