From left, Staff Writer Richie Richards, Sales Manager Jackie Giago, Editor Emeritus Tim Giago (holding the Best of the Dakotas award), Editor Ernestine Chasing Hawk and Publisher Christy Giago Tibbitts.
Best of the Dakotas
Native Sun News sweeps award for best weekly newspaper in South and North Dakota
By Native Sun News Staff Writers BISMARCK, N.D. –– The award came as a complete surprise to the staff and management of the Native Sun News. Publisher Christy Giago Tibbitts, Editor Ernestine Chasing Hawk, Staff Writer Richie Richards, Sales Manager Kirk Dickerson, and retiring Publisher Tim Giago and General Manager Jackie Giago were all seated high in the auditorium of the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck when a copy of the Native Sun News flashed on the big screen followed by the announcement by Mike Vosburg of the Fargo Forum that the Native Sun News had been selected to receive the Best of the Dakotas newspaper award. The newspaper had received 13 awards in its category of papers with a circulation of more than 2,000 prior to the final awards in everything from editorial writing to sports writing before all of the newspaper editors, publishers and staff traveled to the Heritage Center for the final awards of the convention. The new Publisher of the Native Sun News, Tibbitts was ecstatic and she let out one of the biggest cheers of all, but surprisingly the entire theater of journalists gave the crew of NSN a standing ovation. The new Editor of the paper, Chasing Hawk, walked down the long stairway to the stage to receive the award. She said, “Well, that really gives us something to shoot for next year. What a way to start my year as editor.” Staff Writer Richie Richards had a smile a mile wide as he joined in on the cheering. He had just taken first place in a category known as Spot Photography for a photo he took of the mounted riders at Crow Creek and Lower Brule getting ready to set off on a ride to commemorate and honor the 38 Sioux warriors executed by hanging on the orders of President Abraham Lincoln in Mankato, Minn. This was the second time that both newspaper associations joined forces to have a convention composed of both state news organizations. It started in 2013 when the North Dakota Newspaper Association gathered in Rapid City for the first joint organizational meeting. It turned out to be a huge success so the leaders of both organizations decided to do it again in 2015. Reflecting on his more than 30 years as a newspaper publisher, Tim Giago said, “It feels great to not only win the highest award a weekly newspaper can receive, but to know that the new staff and management of the Native Sun News is a strong and capable bunch of journalists and business people ready to lead the Native Sun News into the future. I can now leave the newspaper knowing that it is in very capable hands and all of those hands are Lakota.” “It is time to turn the newspaper over to the next generation of Lakota journalists knowing full well that they will work hard for the best interests of the Lakota people.” Giago believes that becoming a member of the South Dakota Newspaper Association and entering the annual competition for excellence makes the staff work harder and study longer to improve their newspaper in order to meet and beat the competition. His newspaper the Lakota Times was the first Native American paper to join the association in 1982. He believes that by becoming a member of the association it made the other newspaper owners more aware of the Indian presence in South Dakota. He said, “To be recognized as the best by your newspaper peers is also very uplifting.” The staff and management continued the celebration with the staff members who could not make it to Bismarck after they returned home. They all shared in the award’s significance that honored a small Indian owned newspaper pitted against the best newspapers of both states. (You can reach the NSN Editorial Board at editor@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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