The Desert Advocate wins top honor for photography
Staff reports

Scottsdale – The Desert Advocate won first place and second place honors over the weekend at the Arizona Newspapers Association annual conference held in Scottsdale.

First place was awarded for staff photographer Ross Mason’s “Best News Photograph” in the non‑daily newspaper category for papers with circulation greater then 10,000. He also brought home second place for “Best Sports Photograph” in the same category.

Mason’s first place photograph was of firefighters battling a brush fire by helicopter. His second place photograph was of a bull in action at a rodeo.

The 51‑year‑old Mason said of his profession, “Things are different every day... and you have the freedom to shoot a story your own way.”

Before joining The Desert Advocate two years ago, Mason owned and operated a commercial photography studio in Canada, his native country. Prior to that he worked as a photographer for several Canadian newspapers and magazines.

With a weekly circulation of 46,000 papers, The Desert Advocate is ranked by ANA as the largest weekly in Maricopa County and the 10th largest newspaper in Arizona.