bluefield — Vigorous coverage of local news, compelling photographs and strong editorial and sports content earned the Bluefield Daily Telegraph numerous top honors in the West Virginia Press Association’s 2024 Better Newspaper Contest.
The awards were announced Saturday afternoon during the WVPA’s annual award dinner and banquet held at the Four Points Sheraton in Charleston.
Daily Telegraph Managing Editor Charles Owens and former editor Samantha Perry won a first-place award in the Best Service to the Community category for the 2023 edition of the Community Christmas Tree campaign, also known locally as Little Jimmie. The program, which began in 1917, provides hundreds of toys to area children each year.
Daily Telegraph photographer Tara Wyatt won a first place award in the Best Photographer/Videographer of the Year category for photographs and videos of the response to a salvage yard fire in Mercer County, a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ on Mercer Street in Princeton, the police response to a local shooting and coverage of the Cole Chevy Mountain Festival in Bluefield.
Wyatt also won a first place award in the Best Feature Photography category of local children participating in a Halloween event and a second place award in the Best Sports Photography category for coverage of the local Appalachian League baseball team.
Veteran Daily Telegraph reporter Greg Jordan won a first-place award in the Best News Feature category for a story about a Korean war veteran being identified after over 70 years, and his family in Mercer County being informed.
Jordan also won a third place award in the Best Legal Affairs Reporting category for coverage of a local Mercer County murder trial.
Daily Telegraph Sports Editor George Thwaites won a second place award in the Best Sports News and Feature Reporting Category for his coverage of local sporting events in the region.
Daily Telegraph News Editor Andy Patton won a second place award in the Best Newspaper Design category.
Owens also won a second place award in the Best Front Page category.
Perry also a won a third placed award in the Best News Columnist category.
The Daily Telegraph’s advertising department also was a big winner Saturday taking home 13 awards from the WVPA.
In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the Daily Telegraph was named Newspaper of the Year by the West Virginia Press Association.
The press association holds the annual contest each year to recognize the best of the year’s advertising and editorial content.
Entries are judged by other state press associations on a contest website. This year, the judges were from the North Dakota Newspaper Association, and West Virginia Press judged their contest earlier this year.
The full-list of awards for advertising and editorial are as follows:
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST COLOR AD — QUARTER PAGE OR LESS Staff Advertising
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST PROCESS COLOR AD — LARGER THAN A QUARTER PAGE Staff Advertising
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST POLITICAL AD Staff Advertising
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST CLASSIFIED AD Staff Advertising
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST ONLINE STATIC AD Staff Advertising
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST ONLINE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Staff Advertising
- 2nd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST AD CAMPAIGN — HALF PAGE OR LARGER Staff Advertising
- 2nd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST ONLINE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Staff Advertising
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST SPECIAL SECTION Staff Advertising
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST PROCESS COLOR AD — LARGER THAN A QUARTER PAGE Staff Advertising
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST ONLINE STATIC AD Staff Advertising
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST ONLINE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Staff Advertising
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST PROMOTION OF PUBLIC NOTICE Staff Advertising
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTING Greg Jordan
- 3rd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST NEWS COLUMNIST Samantha Perry
- 2nd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST SPORTS NEWS AND FEATURE REPORTING George Thwaites
- 2nd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY Tara Wyatt Editorial Best Sports Photography
- 2nd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST FRONT PAGE Charles Owens
- 2nd Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST NEWSPAPER DESIGN Andy Patton
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST NEWS FEATURE Greg Jordan
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Tara Wyatt
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph BEST PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER: Tara Wyatt
- 1st Place The Bluefield Daily Telegraph SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY Samantha Perry, Charles Owens
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