From staff reports:

The Federal Way Mirror won 13 awards for news and advertising, including Ad of the Year, in the 2012 Washington Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented Sept. 28 during a dinner at the 125th annual Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Convention in Yakima. The Federal Way Mirror won awards in the following categories:

Ad of the Year

2012 Best in advertising (all newspapers)

“Reasons to Play for Father’s Day,” by Cindy Ducich, Marcie Shannon, Rudi Alcott, Mary Lou Goss

Judge’s comment: Great idea! I just had to read all the ads!

Note: This ad, pictured above, also won first place in the category for best multiple advertiser ad (one to two full pages).

Best use of process color (smaller than half page)

Second place: “Motor Vehicle Accident (for Dr. Greg Summers),” by Marcie Shannon and Mary Lou Goss

Judge’s comment: Photo and bold red headline jumps! You can’t miss it on the page.

Promotion of newspaper (single house ad)

First place: Merry Christmas Mirror staff ad

Judge’s comment: This newspaper is welcome in your home as part of the family. Really nice approach identifying the staff.

Best tourism/community guide (special sections)

First place: “Sand Sculpting Tournament of Champions,” by Rudi Alcott, Marcie Shannon, Cindy Ducich and Mary Lou Goss

Judge’s comment: Eye catching and holds the interest. Great section.

Best news story (short)

• First place: “Coyotes: FW resident wants to shoot them,” by Greg Allmain

Judge’s comment: A solid short story on an interesting topic. As a reader, I would love to know more about this man and his problem with coyotes.

• Third place: “It’s OK to view porn at county libraries,” by Andy Hobbs

Judge’s comment: Interesting issue that deserves more attention than allowed in this short story. On a side note, I will now think twice about bringing my 3-year-old daughter to the library …

Best business story

Second place: “Mom-n-pop sex shop taps online niche,” by Andy Hobbs

(No judge’s comment available)

Best crime and court story

Third place: “Cop’s fatal shootings stir up controversy,” by Andy Hobbs

Judge’s comment: Important story. Are this officer’s shootings justified, or is he too quick to pull the trigger and take suspects’ lives? Would be interesting to see a follow-up on what the inquest finds.

Best personality profile (short)

First place: “Left for dead by pirates: A man’s story of survival,” by Andy Hobbs

Judge’s comment: Interesting and gripping story of a Vietnam refugee’s will to survive. Well told, a good read, and informative. Shows how a local merchant can have an amazing, unknown life story.

Best sports personality profile

Third place: “A year later, Corey Obungen still fighting,” by Casey Olson

Judge’s comment: Writer told the story well, including explaining the hardships this kid faces every day.

Best topical column

Second place: “Sidelines,” by Casey Olson

Judge’s comment: You can really hear the writer’s voice in these columns. He gives his take, but not too much so that it’s an opinion piece. One of the pieces was a bit long and could have been trimmed down but all in all, good pieces.

Best online photo gallery, slideshow or video

Third place: “Ron Paul greets rabid followers in WA,” by Andy Hobbs

Judge’s comment: This video was well paced and included plenty of interviews. Some background by way of narration would have improved the package.

About the awards

The Federal Way Mirror, with a weekly circulation of about 31,000, competed against other newspapers in Group IV, the highest circulation category. Some awards were given to overall winners among all circulation categories.

The newspapers were judged on work produced from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012. Entries were judged by members of the New York Press Association. The Mirror is part of Sound Publishing, whose papers gathered more than 250 total awards this year. Learn more about the WNPA Awards here.