The Birmingham Times Brings Home 10 First-Place Awards in Statewide Press Contest

The Birmingham Times

The Birmingham Times Media Group won 10 first-place prizes in the 2025 Alabama Press Association (APA) Media Awards competition including Best Local News Coverage; Best In-Depth News Coverage and Best Sports News In-Depth Coverage.

First-place awards were presented Saturday in conjunction with the 2025 APA Summer Convention banquet held at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach. This year, 53 publications submitted 1,725 entries in the annual contest. The Michigan Press Association membership judged the entries.

The 10 first-place finishes were a record number for the Times which also won two second-place awards and a third for General Excellence.

“This year’s awards are a testament to the work that our news team and the efforts to cover our community,” said Samuel P. Martin, president and publisher of the BTMG. “I am grateful that their work has been recognized by others.”

Freelance journalist Solomon Crenshaw Jr. captured first place awards for Best In-Depth News Coverage (Jeffco’s Turnaround Story Brings Billions from Investors); Best Sports News In-Depth Coverage (America’s Oldest Baseball Park Gets Major League Attention); and Best Sports Single Story, (A.H, Parker High School Captures First Ever State Football Championship).

Design/Contributing Editor Kathryn Sesser-Dorné won first place awards for Best Layout and Design and Best Use of Graphics or Illustrations, Best Special Section – Newsprint, and second place for Best Special Section – Newsprint.

Here’s a closer look at the winning BT categories in the APA contests:

Best Local Economic Coverage

1^st – Birmingham Times (Keisa Sharpe, Sym Posey, Ameera Steward)

2^nd – Hoover Sun

3^rd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

Best Local News Coverage

1^st – Birmingham Times (Barnett Wright, Keisa Sharpe)

2^nd – Hoover Sun

3^rd – Trussville Tribune

Best Use of Photographs/Editorial Content

1^st  — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

2^nd – The Birmingham Times

Best Layout and Design

1^st – The Birmingham Times (Kathryn Sesser-Dorné)

2^nd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

3^rd  – Hoover Sun

Best In-Depth News Coverage

1^st – Birmingham Times (Jeffco’s Turnaround Story Brings Billions from Investors, Solomon Crenshaw Jr.)

2^nd – Hoover Sun

3^rd – The Homewood Star

Best Sports News In-Depth Coverage

1^st – The Birmingham Times (America’s Oldest Baseball Park Gets Major League Attention, Solomon Crenshaw Jr.)

2^nd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

3rd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

Best Sports Single Story

1^st – Birmingham Times (A.H, Parker High School Captures First Ever State Football Championship, Solomon Crenshaw Jr.)

2^nd – The Trussville

3rd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

Best Feature Photo

1^st – Birmingham Times (Germaul Barnes, Meet The Global Dance Maker, Marika N. Johnson)

2^nd – Village Living (Mountain Brook)

3rd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

Best Use of Graphics or Illustrations

1^st – The Birmingham Times (Rickwood Field Tribute, Kathryn Sesser-Dorné)

Best Special Section – Newsprint

1^st — The Birmingham Times (We Are Better Together, Chandra Splond, Kathryn Sesser-Dorné)

2^nd – The Birmingham Times (Rickwood Field, Tribute to The Negro Leagues, Kathryn Sesser-Dorné, Barnett Wright)

3rd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

 Best Production and Printing

1^st – The Birmingham Times

2^nd — The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

General Excellence:

1^st – Hoover Sun

2^nd – The Redstone Rocket (Huntsville)

3^rd – The Birmingham Times