The Tennessee Silhouette Checkout recently achieved notable recognition, taking home 14 awards during the 2025 University of Tennessee Press Association Contest. This event, which highlights the best in journalism, included entries from 71 different news organizations.
The awards were announced at the Tri-State Press Convention held in Memphis on Saturday. Out of 1,113 submissions, Sam Stockard, a reporter for Tennessee Lookout, secured first place for his weekly humor column, “Stockard on the Stump,” which often discusses volunteer national politics in a light-hearted manner. Additionally, Lookout’s Editor-in-Chief, Holly McCall, won the top award for Best Single Editorial for her column published on May 14, 2024.
Interestingly, this nonprofit newsroom celebrated its fifth anniversary on May 6, 2024, showcasing collaborations among various news outlets across the nation. The small team from Lookout, composed of just six members, was recognized in the large newsroom category, a noteworthy feat considering the scale of competition.
Here’s a brief overview of their awards:
1st Place Awards
- Best Personal Humor Column: “Stump Stock: Be prepared to learn the Earth 6,000 years ago” – Sam Stockard
- Best Single Editorial: “Editor’s Notebook: Brave Mother’s Day Posts from Tennessee Rep. Doesn’t Reflect Reality” – J. Holly McCall
2nd Place Awards
- Public Affairs Reporting: “Water Wars: Conservation groups seek protection of the Duck River as water drawing becomes ‘unsustainable'” – Cassandra Stephenson, Anita Wadhwani, John Partipilo
- Research Report: “Congress is considering a bill that developers will help strip protection from wetlands in West Tennessee” – Anita Wadhwani, Adam Friedman
- Best Education Report: “Levelly heartbreaking as a librarian: 150 titles drawn from Rutherford County School Library” – Anita Wadhwani
3rd Place Awards
- Best Editing Section: Bruce Barry, J. Holly McCall, Jim O’Hara
- Best Graphics/Illustrations: “John Cole’s Tennessee” – John Cole
- Best Single Editorial: “Same old Vanderbilt” – J. Holly McCall
4th Place Awards
- Best Sports Coverage: “Governor Lee makes a pitch to bring the Super Bowl to the new Titan Stadium, and NFL commissioner plays Koi” – Sam Stockard
- Best News Photos: “State Troopers Remove Mother from Senate Gallery” – John Partipilo
- Best Personal Column: “1968, and crazy and raging Chicago” – Bo Roberts
5th Place Awards
- Headline Writing: Sam Stockard, J. Holly McCall
- Best Single Feature: “Will the Mississippi River Delta be the next California climate threat to the agricultural mound?” – Cassandra Stevenson, Iran, Ireland, Philip Powell
- Best Personal Humor Column: “Dr. Who and Orange Blob” – Mark Harmon
