In April, Word&Way received 21 awards — including ones for top overall local/regional magazine and top overall podcast — from three religious communication organizations honoring excellence in religious journalism in 2018. Nine of the awards were the top award given in the category. Word&Way received recognition for a variety of efforts, including news writing, magazine design, editorial writing, podcasting, advertising design, photography and e-newsletter.
“We are blown away by the recognition from our peers in religious journalism,” Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor said. “These awards recognize the quality work of Word&Way. But our work does more than just win awards. In Word&Way, you’ll find real news that leads you back to the Good News. And none of that would be possible without the faithful support of our readers and donors.”
The awards set a new single-year record for Word&Way, beating the previous high of nine received in both 2018 and 1996. In all, Word&Way has garnered more than 160 awards since 1978.
Former Word&Way Editor Bob Terry, who retired from The Alabama Baptist in December after more than 50 years in Baptist journalism, received lifetime achievement awards from both Associated Church Press and Baptist Communicators Association.
Religion Communicators Council
(Awarded on April 10 in Chicago, Ill. RCC calls its top award in each category “Award of Excellence” and its second award level “Award of Merit.”)
- Award of Excellence in overall local/regional magazine.
- Award of Merit in local/regional magazine single issue for the June issue.
- Award of Excellence in news article for Kaylor’s December article on “Churches Receiving Taxpayer Money in Aftermath of Missouri Case.”
- Award of Excellence in editorial for Kaylor’s February column on “News You Can’t Quote in Church.”
- Award of Excellence in photography series for Kaylor’s photos in the June issue from North East India.
- Award of Excellence in individual podcast episode for episode 32 (on the “Johnson Amendment”) of “Baptist Without An Adjective.”
Associated Church Press
(Awarded on April 11 in Chicago, Ill. ACP calls its top award in each category “Award of Excellence,” its second award level “Award of Merit” and its third award level “Honorable Mention.”)
- Award of Excellence in audio news story for episode 32 (on the “Johnson Amendment”) of “Baptist Without An Adjective.”
- Award of Merit in magazine design for March issue
- Honorable Mention to Ken Satterfield in electronic newsletter for Word&Way’s semi-monthly “Between the Lines” email newsletter
- Honorable Mention in editorial courage for Kaylor’s March editorial “We Clearly Have a Problem”
- Honorable Mention for in long-format convention/meeting coverage for Kaylor’s coverage of the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in the August issue.
- Honorable Mention for in magazine news story for Kaylor’s October article on “HLGU Invite to Hawley Breaks ‘Johnson Amendment.’”
- Honorable Mention in best disapproving letter to the editor (with special thanks to our now former subscriber who shall remain anonymous).
Baptist Communicators Association
(Awarded on April 12 in Chicago, Calif. BCA uses first, second and third place for its awards.)
- 1st Place in overall broadcast/podcast show for “Baptist Without An Adjective.”
- 1st Place in individual broadcast/podcast episode for episode 32 (on the “Johnson Amendment”) of “Baptist Without An Adjective.”
- 1st Place in print ad series for Satterfield’s ads promoting Word&Way.
- 2nd Place in magazine design.
- 2nd place in long-format news article for Kaylor’s December article on “Churches Receiving Taxpayer Money in Aftermath of Missouri Case.”
- 3rd place in opinion/editorial for Kaylor’s February column on “News You Can’t Quote in Church.”
- 3rd place in news series for Kaylor’s multiple articles on the “Johnson Amendment.”
- 3rd place in general illustration for Satterfield’s infographics on the back of the December issue.
