Latest News, West Virginia Press Convention

West Virginia’s top newspapers, journalists honored

The Inter-Mountain earns Newspaper of the Year; Hedges named Premier Journalist. 


CANAAN VALLEY, W.Va.  – Recognizing outstanding journalistic achievement, the West Virginia Press Association honored newspapers and journalists from around the state Saturday during its 2014 Convention. 

The Inter-Mountain Newspaper of Elkins earned the “Newspaper of the Year” honor, recognizing top performance in both the WVPA’s editorial and advertising competitions. 

The newspaper excelled in the editorial competition, earning first place in General Excellence in the WVPA’s Better Newspaper Contest. The Inter-Mountain earned second place in General Excellence in the Advertising Competition. Its combined score in the two contests earned The The Inter-Mountain the 2014 Newspaper of the Year title.

David and Starr Hedges
2014 Premier Journalist David Hedges and wife, Starr Hedges. Hedges is the publisher of the Spencer Newspapers: The Times Record and The Roane County Reporter.


Spencer Newspapers publisher David Hedges was honored with the Adam R. Kelly Premier Journalist Award during the WVPA convention at Canaan Valley Resort.

The award is the highest individual honor bestowed by the state’s oldest press organization. It is given in recognition of Hedges’ service to newspapers in the state, the West Virginia Press Association and to his local community.

Tom Hindman, photographer for the The Daily Mail of Charleston, won the “Photo of the Year” honor.

Four newspapers earned first-place General Excellence awards, which honor outstanding editorial achievement by circulation division, in the 2014 Better Newspaper Contest. 

The General Excellence Award winners are Charleston Daily Mail in Division I, The Inter-Mountain of Elkins in Division II, Hampshire Review of Romney in Division III, and The Record Delta of Buckhannon in Division IV.

“This competition displays the quality of journalism in West Virginia. From the largest daily newspaper to the smallest weekly newspaper, West Virginian residents benefit from the outstanding and dedicated work of journalists working in the Mountain State,” said Don Smith, executive director of the WVPA.

“Community journalism remains the centerpiece of the newspaper industry in West Virginia. The West Virginia Press Association is proud to recognize and honor these outstanding journalists and newspapers.”

The results of the annual competition were announced during a banquet Saturday. 

Newspapers across the state compete in four circulation groups, two each for daily and weekly newspapers.  The contest has 25 categories, ranging from Coverage of Government Affairs to Best Sports Feature Writing and Best Editorial Page.  In 2014, 40 newspapers entered 2,263 entries. The overall awards for General Excellence are based on awards won in the 25 individual categories. 

For General Excellence, the West Virginia Press Association recognized three places in each division. The newspapers recognized for General Excellence in editorial coverage in 2014 were as follows:

Division I (Dailies over 16,000 circulation): First place, Charleston Daily Mail; second place, The Charleston Gazette; and third place, The Register-Herald, Beckley.

Division II (Dailies 16,000 and under): First place, The Inter-Mountain, Elkins; second place, The Exponent Telegram, Clarksburg; and third place, Times West Virginian, Fairmont.   

Division III (Weeklies over 4,000): First place, Hampshire Review, Romney; second place, The Times Record, Spencer; third place, Spirit of Jefferson, Charles Town.

Division IV (Weeklies 4,000 and under): First place, The Record Delta, Buckhannon; second-place, The Princeton Times; and third-place (ties); The Montgomery Herald; Tyler Star News, Sistersville; and Glenville Democrat/Pathfinder.

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