OXFORD — The Natchez Democrat won 24 total awards, including 12 first-place awards, Saturday at the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Managing Editors annual contest.

The contest entries were from newspapers from both Mississippi and Louisiana and were published in 2012. The winners were announced during a banquet in Oxford on the Ole Miss campus.

The Democrat competes in the small daily newspaper division for the majority of the contest categories.

Award winners were:

First place

•Spot new stories — “Prison riot leaves one dead, others injured; Families wait to hear news,” by Emily Lane and Vershal Hogan

•Investigative news story — “How does county travel stack up?,” by Hogan

•Sports enterprise story — “Paying the price,” by Justin Whitmore and Michael Kerekes

•Editorials — Julie Cooper

•Headlines — Ben Hillyer

•Spot news photo — “Malt shop crash,” by Hillyer

•General news photo — “Graduation tears,” by Lauren Wood

•Sports action photo — “Laying down on the job,” by Hillyer

•Feature photo — “When will it be over?,” by Hillyer

•Illustration — “Flu business,” by Hillyer

•Multipicture — “Baby Malone,” by Wood

•Portrait — “A leap above the rest,” by Hillyer

Second place

•Editorials — staff

•Layout and design — Hillyer

•Sports feature photo — “Getting a leg up,” by Hillyer

•Feature photo — “Ssssssnakes!,” by Wood

•Portrait — “The acting bug,” by Wood

Third place

•Public/community service — “Reading, writing & sex?,” by Lane

•Spot sports story — “Breaking through,” by Whitmore

•Layout and design — Cooper and Hillyer

•General news photo — “A glowing good time,” by Wood

•Sports feature photo — “A time to bond,” by Wood

•Illustration — “Budget squeeze,” by Hillyer

•Multipicture — “Rescuing Camila,” by Hillyer