South Whidbey Record reporter Kira Erickson and photographer David Welton were once again named as the best in the state in the annual Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest.
Erickson, who’s been with the paper for six years, was named Feature Writer of the Year, winning first place in the paper’s circulation group. This is the third year in a row that she received the top honor; she also won nine individual awards.
Welton, a longtime South Whidbey resident, received the second place award as Photographer of the Year, as well as five individual awards for both the South Whidbey Record and the Whidbey News-Times.
Hundreds of journalists, photographers, graphic designers and advertising professionals from weekly, twice-weekly and daily newspapers enter into the Better Newspaper Contest each year. The period for the contest ranged from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. The awards were announced at a convention in Wenatchee over the weekend.
The Whidbey News-Times experienced a staff turnover at the beginning of the year, so only a few stories were entered into the contest. Editor Jessie Stensland received several reporting awards while former reporter Luisa Loi placed third for a poop-related story.
Erickson, however, won first place and third place in the Animal Feature Story category for “Housing purple birds of summer” and “Fireworks pose danger to nesting eagles and other wildlife,” respectively.
She won first place in Business Feature Story category for “Impactful ink: Langley artist tattoos with purpose” and first place in the Personality Profile-Short category for “Bye Bye Bob — again.”
Erickson won second place in Health or Medical Story for “Nationwide rise in measles cases has county officials worried.”
In addition, Erickson received third place awards in Social Issue Story for “Pride flag vandalism raises concerns”; in the coveted News of the Weird category for “Shop owner explores haunting of Greenbank Farm”; in Lifestyle Feature Story for “Mermaids at Ren Faire a shore thing”; and in History Feature Story for “Unearthed antique signs add to mystery of store’s past.”
In photography awards, Welton won first place in the Photo Essay category that accompanied Erickson’s story “Impactful ink: Langley artist tattoos with purpose.” He also won first place in Portrait Photo for a photo from the same essay.
Welton won first place for the News-Times in General News Photo for the story “Whidbey Pride is back.” He won second place for The Record in Feature Photo for covering the Whidbey Island Fair. He won third place for the News-Times in the category Portrait Photo for “A place of their own.”
Stensland won first place in News of the Weird for the story “Man accused of driving ice cream truck into Freeland paint store.” She won first place in Crime & Court category for “Whidbey dog deaths under investigation.” And she won first place in Education Story for “Coupeville schools impacted by ‘Minority Rape Cult.’”
Finally, Loi won third place in Environmental Story for “Residents raise a stink about biosolid smell.”
File photo by David Welton Teresa Forsyth admires her new ink in the mirror of Renata Vignati’s tattoo studio in Langley. David Welton won first place in the Photo Essay category that accompanied Kira Erickson’s story “Impactful ink: Langley artist tattoos with purpose.” He also won first place in Portrait Photo for a photo from the same essay. Photo by David Welton
