MORGANTOWN -- The West Virginia Press Association named the Charleston Gazette-Mail as the state's top Division 1 newspaper for General Excellence on Saturday.
The association announced the results of its annual newspaper contest during its convention at Lakeview resort in Morgantown over the weekend.
The Gazette-Mail news staff took home nine first-place awards, following judging by members of the Montana Press Association.
First-place awards went to:
David Gutman, best governmental affairs reporting. David Gutman, best news feature.
Staff, best sports pages.
Staff, best lifestyle pages.
Staff, best single issue.
Brad McElhinny, best lifestyle columnist.
Mitch Vingle, best sports columnist.
Feature photography, F. Brian Ferguson.
Sports photography, Sam Owens.
The Gazette-Mail also picked up 11 second-place awards and nine third-place awards.
Second place: Kevin Cade, best illustration, cartoon or graphic; David Gutman, best in-depth or investigative reporting; Andrew Brown, best business, economic or labor reporting; Rick Ryan, best sports columnist; Ryan Quinn, best news feature; Rick Steelhammer, best lifestyle columnist; Dawn Miller, best editorial; Raphael Godfrey, best headline writing; Dawn Miller and James Haught, best editorial page; Philip Maramba, best news columnist; Doug Imbrogno, best lifestyles feature.
Third place: Kevin Cade, best illustration, cartoon or graphic; Chris Atkins, best headline writing; Chuck McGill, best sports columnist; Doug Smock, best sports news reporting; Mike Casazza, best sports feature; Staff, service to the community; Staff, best newspaper design; Staff, best front page.
The newspaper's advertising staff also received recognition during the convention.
On Friday afternoon, the association gave overall Division 1 (the largest circulation category) first-place honors to the advertising department.
The ad staff brought home five first-place awards, eight second-place awards, and nine third-place finishes.
First-place ad awards were granted in the following categories: best recruitment ad; best full-page ad campaign; best theme page(s) - classified; best online political ad; and best online static ad.
Second-place ad awards: best spot color ad - half page or less; best single black and white ad - quarter page or less; best house ad; best newspaper promotional campaign; best theme page(s) - classified; best small ad campaign; best progress edition; and best online static ad.
Third-place ad awards: best single black and white ad - quarter page or less; best process color ad - larger than a half page; best political ad; best agency advertisement; best classified display ad; best newspaper promotional campaign; best small ad campaign; best online static ad; and best classified section.