After only a year and a month on line, the website of the Chesterton Tribune has been named the best newspaper website in the state among newspapers with a circulation of 8,000 or less.

At its 35th annual Newsroom Seminar and Better Newspaper Contest Awards ceremony Saturday in Indianapolis, the Hoosier State Press Association awarded first place for Best Online Web Site to Chesterton Tribune managing editor and webmaster David Canright.

According to the judges, “Tons and tons of information! This is a text heavy site, but still a very good one-stop resource to Northwestern Indiana.”

Text heavy indeed. Canright currently has archived more than 1,000 stories on the website, in addition to links to a variety of other websites, municipal, governmental, and public interest.

Canright told the Chesterton Tribune today that the Chesterton Tribune website has made the newspaper more flexible and responsive. “The Internet gives us the opportunity to reach out to former residents and CHS alumni around the world. The best part of the experiment has been the e-mails I’ve been getting from former residents and friends.”

Canright added that the website is currently registering around 57,000 page views monthly.

The Chesterton Tribune website is accessed at http://chestertontribune.com

Urbanik Wins

Chesterton Tribune reporter Vicki Urbanik was also awarded second place Saturday for Best Business/Economic News Coverage for her ongoing coverage earlier this year of Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s property tax appeal.

Noted the judges of Urbanik’s four stories, “The reporters stuck with an important tax-relief story and explained its implications in the local school system and taxpayers. Their questioning helped the community and readers understand an issue that many small papers might have overlooked.”

Urbanik said today that she is gratified by the honor but that the Bethlehem story is still in the making and its fallout is likely to have a profound impact on the Duneland community.

This year’s two awards bring to five the number won by the Chesterton Tribune in the last three years. In 2000 it garnered first place for Best Ongoing News Coverage and in 1999 second place for Best Ongoing News Coverage and second place for Best Business/Economic News Coverage.

Posted 12/4/2001