The Park Record retains its title as the Best Newspaper in Utah. That means the bi-weekly that started publishing in 1880 is the top source of printed information for Division B, which includes small and non-daily publications. The Society of Professional Journalists Utah Headliners Chapter a nnounced the honor during its annual awards ceremony Thursday night at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House at the University of Utah, honoring outstanding work in 2025. “The Park Record gives you a solid feel for the community and readers,” judges said. “Good coverage of their community and great calendars for current and upcoming events. Well done effort with the special section on Mountain Lifestyles and real estate.” The accolades didn’t stop there. By the end of the night, most of The Park Record reporters won at least one award, and brought the total to 49 — nine first-place trophies, as well as 18 second-place, 14 third-place and eight honorable mentions. “This is our best showing yet since I’ve been here,” said Editor and Publisher Don Rogers, who has been at The Park Record for nearly three years. “Nothing is more fun, well, almost nothing, than seeing our new staff celebrating with each other and their joy in their colleagues’ successes.” This year’s distinctions also included three sweeps in the elections, growth and development and technology categories by Park Record staff. “The Park Record came out swinging with its technology reporting, covering everything from environmental issues to an AI explainer,” judges said. Wasatch County reporter Clara Hatcher received the most awards among Park Record staff. Hatcher claimed two first-place, four second-place and four third-place wins. Hatcher shared one of the third-place awards in the growth and development category with Summit County reporter Petr Herink for their reporting on changing populations in the Wasatch Back. Herink also won a second-place award for his reporting on a lawsuit, four third-place awards and one honorable mention.  Ski reporter Klara Meyer was the second-place winner for Best Newspaper Reporter. She also claimed three second-place and two third-place awards, as well as two honorable mentions. Deputy Editor Toria Barnhart came away with five awards, including two first-place nods, two second-place nods and two honorable mentions. “The newsroom has grown immensely over the past few years, in terms of our staff, coverage and skills,” Barnhart said. “I’m excited to see it continue, and I can’t wait to see what else we come up with.” Jonathan Herrera, the Latino culture reporter who stepped into the photography role this year, won two second-place nods, one third-place and two honorable mentions. One of the second-place awards and the honorable mentions were awarded for Spanish-language journalism. Former photographer Clayton Steward won first place in the sports action photojournalism category as well as a second-place award for general news photo. It was the first Society of Professional Journalists awards ceremony for Heber City reporter Cannon Taylor, who joined the newsroom in late 2025. Taylor walked away with four awards: a first-place win in the growth and development category, a second and third-place, and an honorable mention. “This newsroom is incredibly fast-paced,” he said. “In almost eight months of being in this role, I’ve already written over 200 articles. In a job where it’s always about the next assignment, it feels good to look back and be recognized by fellow journalists.”  Katie Hatzfeld, a digital editor who also writes features, and Rogers each took home three awards. Hatzfeld led the technology category sweep with a first-place nod. She also took second place in the series category and third place for long-form storytelling. Rogers landed first place for an editorial about a third-party investigation into the Park City School District, as well as third place in the review/criticism category and an honorable mention for a personality profile.  Columnist Kate Sonnick took home a first-place honor for her Betty Diaries column. Sports reporter Jack Singer received a second-place award in the sports deadline reporting category, Scene Editor Scott Iwasaki won second place in the arts and entertainment category and copyeditor Parker Mortensen won third place in the technology category. “What I am most pleased about with this is that the newsroom has been working ever more independently of me, and together between the editors and the reporters,” Rogers said. “All their skills have been growing and so fast to my eye. They are developing and enhancing systems to maximize the quality of our work, along with our speed on production days. There is plenty of room and need to keep getting better and better, but the progress has been terrific. We see some of that in the growth in their award numbers.”  Deputy Editor Toria Barnhart contributed to the story. The post The Park Record is still the Best Newspaper in Utah appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less