Santa Rosa Press Democrat earns state honors

Published: Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 4:43 a.m.

The Press Democrat won awards for a sports story and for editorial comment Saturday in the annual Better Newspapers Contest sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

An editorial by Editorial Director Paul Gullixson was awarded second place. It called for release of sheriff's investigative files on John Mark Karr, who gained national attention as a suspect in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado and who earlier had been arrested in Petaluma on suspicion of possession of child pornography.

The awards were given in the judging for newspapers with a daily circulation of 75,000 to 200,000.