Last week, select winners of the 2017 Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest were announced by Dee Ann Campbell, chairman of the APA Better Newspaper Contest Committee with Gulf Coast Media’s family of publications winning five awards.

The Baldwin Times received a first place award in the Best News Feature Coverage category for John Underwood and Cliff McCollum’s enterprise series on the impact of drugs in Baldwin County.

“Drugs are obviously an issue in many places across our state, but we wanted to look at it from several different angles,” Underwood said. “From the perspective of an active addict, from treatment professionals, from law enforcement and from the families who are impacted by loved ones with addiction. We did this to help open the eyes of some in our community, but we’re proud to be given an award for those efforts, too.”

The Baldwin Times also won a first place award for Best Editorial for “Gov. Bentley, tear down your wall,” a strong opinion about the wall built on Baldwin County public land at the gubernatorial beach mansion down in Fort Morgan.

McCollum also won two awards in the Best Humorous Column category, taking first and second place.

“It’s nice to know people find stories about local elected officials and livestock amusing,” McCollum said. “I appreciate Commissioner Chris Elliott and Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan letting me share that amusing story with our readers and the APA selection committee. I suppose I should probably thank the goat as well.”

Gulf Coast Media also won a second place award for Best Niche Publication for its Big Beautiful Baldwin publication.

“Our former Onlooker Editor Allison Woodham was the real success behind that publication, so we’re thankful for all of her hard work in putting that together,” McCollum said. “We put that guide together as a one-stop shop for all the Baldwin County information you could ever need, so we’re overjoyed to win an award for it.”

The awards will be presented on Saturday, July 8 during the APA Summer Convention at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach.

There are still several categories yet to be announced in which Gulf Coast Media has entries, including Best Local Education Coverage, Best Local News Coverage and the Freedom of Information - First Amendment Award.