Editor and Publisher magazine named independent hyper-local LititzDailyNews.com as a finalist in the 2015 EPPY Awards contest on Wednesday. LititzDailyNews.com, published by Lititz Media Group, is a finalist in the Best Photojournalism of a Website with under a million unique monthly visitors. Editor and Publisher magazine annually recognizes outstanding achievement in news publishing.

“It is a tremendous honor for LititzDailyNews.com to be a finalist in this prestigious competition,” said Rebuck, editor and publisher of the site. “To see our year-old publication featured on a list of finalists alongside CNN, MSNBC, and ESPN is truly amazing.”

Over 400 entries competed in 31 categories during the 20th annual international competition honoring the best media-affiliated websites from around the globe. Each entry is judged by a distinguished panel of media industry reviewers. Finalists must score in the top one-third of the average score across all categories within their division.

Rebuck, who solo-publishes LititzDailyNews.com, set out to produce an image-rich digital newspaper to meet the demand for more immediate news in an image-rich format. Over the past year, she has taken and published over 2,000 photos and written over 250 original stories while simultaneously managing all social media accounts for the site. Her use of social media to promote the stories and passion for solo-publishing recently earned her an invitation to the White House.

In addition to publishing her own photos, she relies on local photographers and readers who contribute their images to the site.

“Part of the joy as publisher is to have the opportunity to provide a platform for these skilled and creative photographers, so that more people can be exposed to the great work that they are doing,” said Rebuck.

Winners in each EPPY category will be announced next week.

Editor Lynn Rebuck outside the White House on Saturday, October 3, 2015.

Editor Lynn Rebuck outside the White House on Saturday, October 3, 2015.