May 10, 2016

AS I SEE IT

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

It goes without saying that everyone on the staff at the McKenzie County Farmer is committed to publishing the very best newspaper that we can each and every week. We strive to have news stories that inform and educate our readers on the issues that matter the most to them. Those stories may be about city and county government, what’s happening in our schools, business and industry news, what’s happening in high school sports or feature stories on people who are making a difference in  our communities.
Plus, we try our hardest each and every week to load the pages of our newspaper with high quality photos that not only catch the reader’s eyes, but help record the events of the county. And we try to make sure that all of the advertisers’ ads are accurate and eye-catching.
It is no easy task. Trying to bring our subscribers and readers the very best newspaper is no easy job. It’s a 24-hour/seven-day-a-week job that can be both frustrating and demanding. But the rewards of being in the newspaper business in an area such as McKenzie County and Watford City are beyond description. The opportunity to be able to record for posterity all of the challenges and changes that this part of North Dakota has seen, and will continue to see in the future is something that most people in the news business never get a chance to experience.
Like I said, we try hard to produce the best newspaper that we can.
But somewhere in the back of our minds, especially mine as the editor, there is always that nagging question as to whether or not we are producing the quality product that we think that we are.
This past weekend, while attending the annual North Dakota Newspaper Association’s Convention in Crosby, I found out that indeed we are producing a quality newspaper as staff members of the McKenzie County Farmer were awarded 30 awards in the Better Newspaper Contest, including seven first place awards, by the judges from the Wyoming Newspaper Association.
We are especially pleased with two of the awards as the Farmer staff received second place in the Overall Design Excellence category, and an Honorable Mention in the General Excellence category.
It is a tribute to our entire staff to be recognized as being one of the best weekly newspapers in North Dakota. And it is nice to see that the hard work by all of our employees, whether they are writers, ad designers or proof readers, was recognized.
As we all know, awards come and go. Maybe next year, we will win more awards. But then again maybe we won’t stack up as well against the competition in the judge’s eyes. But for one moment in time, it was nice to be recognized by our newspaper peers as doing a great job of putting out a quality newspaper each week.
But then again, that is our goal. If we win awards, that’s fine. And if we don’t, it won’t be for the lack of effort from our entire staff. After all, our subscribers, readers and advertisers should expect the very best from us. And, every week that is what we plan to deliver.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER