Southern Nebraska Register
The Catholic Diocese of Lincoln earned eight awards, including an honorable mention for the best weekly newspaper, in the 2025 Catholic Media Association national awards competition.
The awards were handed out as part of the annual Catholic Media Association conference held June 24-27 in Phoenix.
The Southern Nebraska Register earned an honorable mention for best weekly newspaper in the competition that attracted more than 3,100 entries across all categories. The Criterion newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis took top honors in the category.
The Diocese of Lincoln was awarded three second-place finishes this year. The November 2024 month-long series “Echoes of Faith: Remembering Our Catholic Inspiration” received second place in the Best Multimedia Package Series category. “Echoes of Faith” featured daily stories from priests, religious and laity about people they have known who have passed away but still influence their Catholic faith.
“This series is a moving, often-touching catalog of unrecognized saints,” the judges’ comments read. “A very creative idea that was executed well.”
Bishop James Conley’s column in the Register won second-place honors for the Best Regular Column by Bishop or Archbishop. The judges said the columns were at times “deeply personal” and complimented a column on gender ideology for being “well-researched, timely writing that uses additional sources to educate the reader.”
Journalist Shelby Siegfried’s story “Championing Faith: A Catholic Wrestler’s Journey” profiling Bishop Neumann High School’s Trent Moudry’s inspirational wrestling season that ended as a state champion also earned second place in the Best Sports Journalism – Sports Feature or Column category. One judge commented, “This was such a good entry and told a tremendous story and captured the people so well. I also enjoyed the nugget at the end about how this young man’s journey is not done yet.”
The Southern Nebraska Register won three awards for photography. Cathy Bender and Natalie Bender earned third place for Best Multiple Picture Package. Their photo package focused on an ultimate frisbee tournament held at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward. Judges noted the photos “effectively (illustrated) both the fun of the event and the sense of community it fostered and created.”
The third-place award for Best Photo Story – Feature went to Cathy Bender, Natalie Bender and Kevin Clark for their photos of the ordination Mass in May of 2024. The judges called the photos a “beautifully curated collection of photos to tell a story of joy and celebration.”
Corbin Hubbell and S.L. Hansen of the Register also received honorable mention for Best Multiple Picture Package – News for their photos with the story “Lincoln Diocese Pilgrims Attend National Eucharistic Congress.”
In the Communications Director of the Year category, Dennis Kellogg of the Diocese of Lincoln earned honorable mention. Kellogg won first place honors in that category in 2024.
The Catholic Media Association conference attracted nearly 400 journalists from Catholic media organizations and dioceses in the United States. The award competition is judged by a panel of veteran journalists from a variety of Catholic media organizations.
The Catholic Media Association began in 1911. The organization aims to contribute to the Church’s mission of communicating the Good News and evangelizing the modern world by engaging and supporting Catholic media.
