Editor Tabitha Johnston holds up the Shepherdstown Chronicle’s General Excellence Award, presented Saturday at the West Virginia Press Association convention. Toni Milbourne
CHARLESTON — Both the Shepherdstown Chronicle and The Journal were pleased to receive honors in several categories of newspaper excellence at the West Virginia Press Association’s annual conference. The event, hosted by the WVPA in Charleston, brought together newspaper employees from across the state who submitted entries to the annual advertising and editorial contests.
The WVPA hosted business meetings and educational seminars as well as the Advertising and Editorial Awards Luncheons held Friday and Saturday at the Four Points by Sheraton.
The Chronicle secured the General Excellence Award in Division IV, the highest honor given per division. In addition, Chronicle staff received over 20 first, second or third place awards for entries submitted for the 2023 calendar year.
“The Shepherdstown Chronicle winning the General Excellence award in our category is the highest honor we could have hoped for, and we are forever grateful to the West Virginia Press Association and the judges for recognizing our hard work,” said General Manager Trevor Evans.
In addition to the awards received by The Chronicle, The Journal’s editorial staff took home more than 20 first, second and third place awards, as well as a second place award for overall excellence in Division II.
“I am proud of the Journal and Shepherdstown Chronicle editorial staff as they have worked hard for these editorial awards,” said Evans.
Newspapers across the state are divided into divisions based on circulation. There are four divisions in which like-minded newspapers compete. The Journal falls in Division II, while the Shepherdstown Chronicle is in Division IV. Entries are judged by a different state press association each year. This year, judges came from the North Dakota Newspaper Association, said Stella Gill, special events coordinator for WV Press. Points are awarded for each winning entry, and the newspaper with the most points in each division wins the General Excellence Award. General Excellence awards are given for both the editorial and advertising departments. Neither the Journal nor the Chronicle submitted entries for the advertising contest this year. The newspaper with the highest score in both contests — editorial and advertising combined — is named Newspaper of the Year. The 2024 winner went to The Inter-Mountain in Elkins.
The journal’s 2024 awards included:
1st place – Toni Milbourne, best legal reporting
1st place – Bob O’Connor, best news columnist
1st place – Andrew Spellman, best sports columnist
1st place – Rick Kozlowski, best sports reporting
1st Place – Rick Kozlowski, Best Sports News and Reporting
1st place – Sports/Design editorial team of the magazine, best sports pages
1st place – Sports editorial department/design of the magazine, best sports special section
1st place – editorial/design of the magazine, best editorial page
1st Place – Rick Kozlowski, Best News Photo
1st place – editorial/design of the magazine, best newspaper design
2nd place – Toni Milbourne, best reporting on government affairs
2nd place – Rick Kozlowski, best sports columnist
2nd place – Rick Kozlowski, best sports reporting
2nd place – Sports/Design editorial team of the magazine, best sports pages
2nd place – Toni Milbourne, best lifestyle feature
2nd place – Ainsley Hall, best news photo
2nd place – editorial/design of the magazine, best single issue
3rd place – Toni Milbourne, best reporting on government affairs
3rd place – Rick Kozlowski, best sports reporting
3rd place – Toni Milbourne, best editorial
3rd place – Toni Milbourne, best feature film photography
Chronicle awards included:
1st Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best Reporting from a Public Announcement
1st Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best In-Depth or Investigative Reporting
1st Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best News Feature
1st place – John Doyle, best news columnist
1st place – Bob Madison, best sports columnist
1st place – Kristi Hendricks, best lifestyle column
1st Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best Editorial
1st Place – Tabitha Johnston, Beat Feature Photography
1st place – Tabitha Johnston, best photo essay
1st Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best Photographer/Videographer
2nd Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best In-Depth or Investigative Reporting
2nd place – Tabitha Johnston, best reporting on government affairs
2nd place – Tabitha Johnston, best news feature
2nd place – Tabitha Johnston, best lifestyle feature
2nd place – Tabitha Johnston, best headline
2nd Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best Feature Film Photography
2nd Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best News Photography
3rd place – Tabitha Johnston, best reporting on government affairs
3rd place – Tabitha Johnston, best lifestyle feature
3rd Place – Tabitha Johnston, Best Feature Film Photography
3rd place – David Pennock, best photo essay
Newspapers recognized for overall excellence in editorial coverage in 2024 included Division I (daily newspapers with circulation over 16,000), The Register-Herald; Division II (daily newspapers with circulation under 16,000), The Inter-Mountain; Division III (weekly newspapers with circulation over 4,000), The Hampshire Review; and Division IV (weekly newspapers with circulation under 4,000), The Shepherdstown Chronicle.
In the advertising division, General Excellence Awards went to The Herald Dispatch in Division I, The Inter-Mountain in Division II, The Spirit of Jefferson in Division III and The Weston Democrat in Division IV.
