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The News-Gazette won six awards in the Virginia Press Association’s 2022 news and advertising contest.
The awards were announced at the VPA’s annual awards dinner on May 6.
The newspaper received three awards in the writing categories.
Emma Coleman, a reporter who is now with The Roanoke Times, won a secondplace award in the general news writing category for her coverage of the Goshen water crisis, which occurred early last year.
Matt Paxton, publisher, won a second-place award for column writing, based on three entries entitled “Alphabet Soup,” “Clara Bell” and “Fair is Fair.” The judge wrote this of his entries: “These are very well written and the subject matter is something of course, I can relate to. But it also explains well the importance of what we do to the average person.”
Joann Ware, copy editor, part-time layout designer and photographer, earned a third place in the same category for her columns entitled “Back To School Again,” “When the Lions Roared” and “A Covid Story.” According to the judge, “The Covid story was very relatable and well written. The other columns were interesting as well.”
Stephanie Blevins, layout designer and photographer, won two awards for her photography, both in the sports news photo category, one of football action, the other of baseball. She won a firstplace award for her football photo entitled “High Flying” and a second-place award for one entitled “Next Step.” The judge complimented the photos for their sharpness and said the first-place award was “a great shot!”
Blevins also shared a second- place award for front page design with editor Darryl Woodson. The judge wrote this about the entries: “Well organized front page sets a clear hierarchy with headline sizing, plus dominant photo and contrasting size of secondary art creates visual impact. Overall design style avoids competing visual clutter.”
The News-Gazette completed in the non-daily Group 3 category for newspapers with a paid circulation of between 4,000 and 9,000.
