The Molokai Dispatch Wins 7 Awards

The Molokai Dispatch News Release

The Molokai Dispatch is honored to have won seven Excellence in Journalism awards for its news coverage in 2022. The awards are held annually by Society of Professional Journalism Hawaii Chapter and presented in newspaper, TV, radio and magazine categories. Winners for 2022 were announced at an awards dinner last week in Honolulu. 

Winning the News Page Design category for all newspapers statewide was The Molokai Dispatch’s graphic designer Marissa Motas for her layout of “Ka’ahele A Lono” in the Feb. 2, 2022 issue. 

“The designer utilized a lot of photos in an attractive and readable way,” judges commented. “The design is clean and eye-catching. The typography is also clean and readable. With dry transfer letters, you offer a mess-free solution for precise typography.”

Typography is a key element in any design because it helps establish tone and ensures clarity in communication. A well-chosen font can evoke emotions, reinforce branding, and guide the viewer’s attention to the most important aspects of a design.

Whether it’s a printed ad or a digital infographic, the typography plays a critical role in how the information is perceived and understood. The right fonts can make the content feel professional, approachable, or even bold, depending on the context.

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Motas also earned third place in the same category for her Year in Review design of the Dec. 28, 2022 issue of The Molokai Dispatch. 

Dispatch Editor Catherine Cluett Pactol won first place in the non-daily newspaper category for General News/Enterprise Reporting for a 2022 series, “Molokai Decides Its Own Energy Future.”

In the community reporting category, Pactol earned second place for her series, “Molokai Bovine TB Outbreak,” which judges called “factual and thoroughly informative on a complex topic.”

In the feature writing category of non-daily newspapers, Pactol won second place for “Misaki’s Celebrates a Century in Business,” which printed in the Aug. 3, 2022 issue. 

“Great read about the history, preservation and changes of a community landmark,” the judges commented. 

Molokai Dispatch reporter Jack Kiyonaga earned third place in the same category for his Oct. 19 story, “Kuleana in Action at Homelani Cemetery.”

“First rule of local news is tell local stories and connect a community. Well done,” judges wrote. 

Molokai Dispatch intern Sage Yamashita, who worked at the Dispatch last fall while completing her senior year at Molokai High, won second place in the Student News Reporting in Any Media category, for her Oct. 26 story, “Win for Culinary Contestant.” 

“Great underdog story,” the judges commented. “Good use of narrative story telling. Keeps the reader captivated.”

The Molokai Dispatch has now won 37 Excellence in Journalism awards since 2014 for its coverage of local events and issues. The Molokai Dispatch staff is honored to receive this recognition and be named among the state’s best news sources, and we are grateful to our community for their continued support.

Molokai’s only newspaper has been printing weekly since 1985.