Bluefield Daily Telegraph wins third straight ‘Newspaper of the Year’ honor

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel’s Jim Spanner wins Adam R. Kelly Award

WV Press News Sharing

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Top honors at the 2022 West Virginia Press Association Convention went to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph as “Newspaper of the Year” and Parkersburg News and Sentinel Publisher Jim Spanner as the “Adam R. Kelly Award’ winner.

Eight West Virginia newspapers earned first-place General Excellence awards, four for editorial coverage and four for advertising sales efforts. General Excellence recognition, which is awarded by circulation division, indicates performance in the industry’s editorial and advertising competition. The highest combined point total for editorial and advertising wins Newspaper of the Year designation.

Publisher Terri Hale accepted the NOY award on behalf of Bluefield. The 2022 award marks the newspaper’s third straight ‘Newspaper of the Year’ designation. Jessica Goins is advertising sales manager for Bluefield, and Jeremy Basham accepted the advertising awards for the newspaper. Samantha Perry is editor of the Daily Telegraph.

Spanner, publisher of the News and Sentinel won the WVPA’s highest individual honor — The Adam R. Kelly Award — for his outstanding dedication to the newspaper industry, the West Virginia Press Association and his local community.

Parkersburg News and Sentinel Publisher JIm Spanner, center, receives the Adam R. Kelly Award from West Virginia Press Association Executive Director Don Smith, left, and President Perry Nardo

A photo by Sholten Singer for The Herald Dispatch of Huntington won Photo of the Year.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel staff won Advertisement of the Year.

The results of the annual competition, which honors excellence in newspaper journalism, were announced Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5-6, during a banquet at Four Points by Sheraton in Charleston.

West Virginia Press Association President Perry Nardo, at right, and Executive Director Don Smith, at left, present the First Place General Excellence in Editorial awards to, from left, Greg Jordan and Jessica Nuzzo, The Bluefield Daily Telegraph; Sally See, Hampshire Review;
Dylan Vidovich, The Logan Banner; and J. Damon Cain, The Register-Herald of Beckley.

“Our annual newspaper competition always brings out the best of what our state’s newspapers and journalists have to offer,” said Don Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Press Association. “From the largest daily newspaper to the smallest weekly newspaper, West Virginia residents benefit from the outstanding and dedicated work of journalists throughout the state. Community journalism remains the centerpiece of the newspaper industry in the Mountain State. The West Virginia Press Association is proud to recognize and honor the excellent work produced by West Virginia’s terrific newspapers and journalists.”

EDITORIAL RESULTS:

Division I (Dailies over 10,000 circulations):

1^st Place: The Register-Herald of Beckley

2^nd Place: Charleston Gazette-Mail

3^rd Place: The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Division II (Dailies 10,000 and under):

1^st Place: Bluefield Daily Telegraph

2^nd Place: The Weirton Daily Times

3^rd Place: The Inter-Mountain

Division III (Weeklies over 3,500):

1^st Place: Hampshire Review

2^nd Place: The Times Record and Roane County Reporter