The Sparks Tribune made a strong showing in the annual Nevada Press Association competition, winning top awards for its editorial pages, design and best local column.
Tribune owner Tim Dahlberg was also inducted into the NPA’s Hall of Fame in Saturday’s awards at the Palace Station in Las Vegas. Dahlberg got his start at the Tribune in the mid 1970s, later returning to buy the paper on behalf of Battle Born Media.
“This is quite an honor for me, especially since Sparks is where I began my journalism career while attending the University of Nevada,’’ Dahlberg said. “I have a lot of great memories of my time working for the Tribune, and I’m proud to have the paper today as we work to make it even better.’’
The Tribune was honored with a first place for its editorial pages, with the judges called an “excellent range of topics and contributors in an engaging layout.” One of those contributors, longtime Tribune columnist Andrew Barbano, also won first place for column writing.
“Excellent work,’’ one of the judges said of Barbano’s columns. “These are some of the most moving columns I’ve read.”
Tribune managing editor Eric Dahlberg won first place for graphic designing for the paper, which judges said made the Tribune stand out among its competitors.
“The strong use of art on tab pages made these entries stand out,’’ judges said. “They weren’t cluttered or try too hard, they just presented the content in an easy-to-digest package for readers, a hallmark of good design that’s not easy to pull of consistently.”
Tribune photographer John Byrne was honored for his photos, taking first place for a picture of horses running near a wildfire.
“A great storytelling image that immediately rose to the top due to its eye-catching qualities,’’ judges said.
The Tribune also won third place for general excellence.
Tribune owner Tim Dahlberg was honored for his work in Nevada journalism and for The Associated Press, where he is the lead national sports columnist.
He started his career at the Sparks Tribune and became a night police reporter at the Review-Journal in 1976. He was among the first on the scene of the 1980 MGM Grand fire that killed 87 people, writing the lead story and covering the aftermath as Nevada legislators were pushed to adopt tough new fire safety standards.
After joining the AP’s Las Vegas bureau, Dahlberg covered events like Wayne Newton’s libel suit against NBC and a Culinary Union strike that paralyzed the Strip. He later helped cover Muhammad Ali’s fight with Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace, launching a career covering the biggest sporting events in the world, including 14 Olympics, more than 100 major golf championships, hundreds of championship fights, 10 Super Bowls and six World Series.
His career came full circle when he teamed up with former RJ publisher Sherman Frederick to form Battle Born Media in 2011, which now owns six weekly newspapers in Nevada, including the Sparks Tribune.
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