WV Press Convention 2023: Hampshire Review wins Newspaper of the Year Honors

EDITORIAL: Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Inter-Mountain, Hampshire Review, and The Doddridge Independent win General Excellence Honors

ADVERTISING: Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Inter-Mountain, Times Record & Roane County Reporter; and Tyler Star News win General Excellence Honors

WV Press Staff Report

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With “family” being a major theme of the 2023 West Virginia Press Association Convention, held this Aug. 11-12 in Charleston, perhaps it’s fitting the Hampshire Review, owned by the See family and operated by the family since the 1890s, won the Newspaper of the Year award.

Editor Sallie See accepted the honor for the weekly newspaper based in Romney. She was joined at the editorial awards luncheon by her husband, Charlie, the retired publisher; her son, Craig, who is the current publisher of the operation; his wife, Jenny, who is business manager of the operation; and Sallie’s and Charlie’s grandchildren Madilyn and Charlotte See.

With the new WV Press “Family Friendly” event format, which, through the sponsorship of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, provided complimentary tickets to all events for spouses and family members, the Editorial and Advertising awards banquets were packed with cheering supporters.

As the individual and newspaper awards were announced, employees and spouses cheered for the winners. 

“It makes convention more of a celebration and less of a work event when no one is left at home, and everyone can share the excitement,” said Don Smith, executive director WV Press.   

In additional to awards, education programs and social events, attendees were also welcomed by government officials and enjoyed the City of Charleston’s “Live on the Levee” concert, downtown activities and a Dirty Birds baseball game.

“We gather to recognize the best work of the West Virginia newspaper industry,” Smith said. “We also use this time to network, celebrate, education and socialize with leaders and people of the state. It’s the biggest media gathering in West Virginia.”

During the awards presentations, no group was larger or louder than the Charleston Gazette-Mail employees. The newspaper serving the host city took top honors — Editorial and Advertising General Excellence — in Division 1 and claimed the Photo of the Year and Advertisement of the Year awards. Publisher Doug Skaff and the management team also hosted a tour of the Gazette-Mail facilities on Friday for convention attendees and guests.

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

ADVERTISEMENT OF THE YEAR

Other General Excellence Award winners are listed below. The competitions included 31 newspapers with 2,232 entries and were judged by the Nebraska Press Association.

GENERAL EXCELLENCE

EDITORIAL

Division 1

1^st – Charleston Gazette-Mail

2^nd – The Register-Herald

3^rd – The Herald-Dispatch

Division 2

1^st – The Inter-Mountain

2^nd – The Weirton Daily Times

3^rd – Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Division 3

1^st – The Hampshire Review

2^nd – The Times Record & Roane County Reporter

3^rd – Wetzel Chronicle

Division 4

1^st – The Doddridge Independent

2^nd – The Logan Banner

3^rd – Mountain Messenger – tie

3^rd – The Shinnston News & Harrison County Journal – tie

Click here to see a PDF display of the individual winners: https://wvpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Individual-list-for-WVPress.org_.pdf

EDITORIAL WINNERS:

Here is the editorial presentation:

ADVERTISING WINNERS:

ADVERTISING

Division 1

1^st – Charleston Gazette-Mail

2^nd – The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register

3^rd – The Register-Herald

Division 2

1^st – The Inter-Mountain

2^nd – The Bluefield Daily Telegraph

3^rd – The Weirton Daily Times

Division 3

1^st – The Times Record and Roane County Reporter

2^nd – Hampshire Review

3^rd – The Spirit of Jefferson

Division 4

1^st – The Tyler Star News

2^nd – The Doddridge Independent

Here this the advertising presentation:

WV Press thanks its partners and sponsors for supporting the 2023 convention:

Event sponsors include:

▪AARP WV – Corporate Partner & President’s Reception Sponsor
▪WVU University Relations – Corporate Partner & Editorial Awards Luncheon Sponsor

▪WV Press Association Foundation – Board of Directors Social Sponsor
▪West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine – Family Sponsor

▪The Health Plan – Advertising Awards Luncheon Sponsor

▪ Highmark – Convention Hospitality Sponsor
Additional Convention sponsors include:

▪GameChanger
▪New River Gorge Regional Development Authority
▪West Virginia Hive
▪Highmark
▪BHE Renewables
▪City National Bank
▪WV Department of Tourism
▪ONE – Our Next Energy
▪Vandalia Health/CAMC
▪WV Nursery & Landscaping Association ▪Asher Agency
▪The Associated Press
▪Affiliated Construction Trades of West Virginia
▪HepCatz Design
▪Echo Lit
▪Focus Media Co.

SPONSORS:

The education program for 2023 included the following sessions:

Education Session – sponsored by GameChanger — “WV National Guard Update.” Attendees heard about the National Guard’s service activities and recruitment advertising efforts with Edwin L. “Bo” Wriston, West Virginia National Guard, Public Affairs Specialist, and his team.

Education Session – sponsored by West Virginia Press Services —  “Pulse presentation on Sales Tools.” Attendees heard from Sammy Papert about a data-driven prospecting, engagement and proposal tool that succeeds for local media sales organizations.

Education Session – Sponsored by BHE Renewables —  “Working with Congressional Offices and More,” sponsored by BHE Renewables. Attendees heard how best to work with the Congressional Offices of West Virginia’s elected officials from Mara Boggs, state director for US Senator Joe Manchin, with additional information from US Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s office. There was also updates on Social Security from David Certner, AARP Legislative Counsel and Director of Legislative Policy for Government Affairs; and on the “News & Small Business Support Act” from Steven Waldman, chair of the Rebuild Local News Coalition and co-cofounder of Report for America – Capitol Suite C.

Education Session – sponsored by City National Bank – “Artificial intelligence, ethics and its implications for communications.” Attendees heard from Amy Cyphert, Lecturer in Law at the West Virginia University College of Law and the Director of the ASPIRE Office, on the impact of artificial intelligence’s potential impact on media and communications.

Enjoy this photo gallery from the 2023 WV Press Convention: