THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502050056
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Stephanie Porter-Nichols, editor of the Southwest Virginia Enterprise in Wytheville and the Bland Messenger, received the eighth annual D. Lathan Mims Award for editorial leadership and service to the community Saturday.
Porter-Nichols, whose nomination was submitted by the Enterprise, received the award at the winter meeting of the Virginia Press Association in Richmond.
Judy Josiah, assistant professor of mass communications at Fort Valley State College in Georgia, judged the work of the seven nominees. Of Porter-Nichols, she wrote:
``Even though I am certain that some of her views were unpopular with some members of her community, she continually seemed to put the welfare of her community and its people in the forefront.
``I was impressed with her concern over the environment and for the quality of life in her small community. . . She shows a depth of social conscience and a breadth of interest and concern for the poor, for minorities and for those who may fall between the cracks in the system. . . .''
The Mims award is named for the late D. Lathan Mims, former editor and general manager of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg and an active participant in the Virginia Press Association. He was president of VPA in 1974. His daughter, Sandra Mims Rowe, former executive editor of The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star in Norfolk and a former officer of VPA, is executive editor of The (Portland) Oregonian.
Mims believed that newspapers and their editors should be active, caring parts of the communities they serve. He believed that a newspaper should support those things which would make the community a better place to live, and oppose those which detract from the quality of life.
The criteria for judging include skill in writing, clarity of position, fairness in handling of the issues, appropriate use of pertinent facts, and vision of the community's needs, both present and future.
The award is made to an individual writer of editorials, signed commentaries or editorial page columns, working for a weekly newspaper of any size or a daily newspaper with circulation of 40,000 or less. by CNB