Joe Novotny took first place in the special section cover design catetory for “Valley Vows 2023.”
The Methow Valley News collected 47 “Better Newspaper Contest 2023” awards for advertising, writing, photography, design and special publications, the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association (WNPA) announced recently.
That is the most awards the newspaper has won in the WNPA’s annual contest, exceeding the 46 awards the News won the previous year. Awards for the 2023 contest period were announced at the WNPA’s yearly convention, which took place in Kennewick the first weekend in October.
Contest winners included 13 first-place awards.
The “Better Newspaper Contest,” which drew more than 1,500 individual category entries from 47 weekly and small daily newspapers in Washington state, covered material published from April 2022 through March 2023. Awards are presented in four groups according to their circulation. The Methow Valley News is in group 2 (circulation of 2,001 to 3,399). Judging was by members of the Montana Newspaper Association.
WNPA is a newspaper trade organization that represents weekly community newspapers, and some small daily newspapers, in Washington state.
The Methow Valley News winners are listed below (awards are for circulation group 2 newspapers unless otherwise specified):
• MyKenzie Bennett, 2nd place, branding ad, “Casia Lodge” (groups 1 and 2).
• Tera Evans, 3rd place, ads featuring animals, “Methow Valley Horsemen” (groups 1 and 2).
• Tera Evans, 2nd place, arts and entertainment ads, “Loup Loup Ski Rental Shop” (groups 1 and 2).
• MyKenzie Bennett, 2nd place, use of clip art, “VIP Insurance” (groups 1-3).
• MVN staff, 3rd place, tourism special sections, “Methow Valley Summer 2023” (groups 1 and 2).
• MVN staff, 1st place, lifestyle and culture special sections, “Methow Home 2023” (groups 1 and 2).
• MVN staff, 2nd place, lifestyle and culture special sections, “Valley Vows 2023” (groups 1 and 2).
• MVN staff, 1st place, community guide special sections, “Methow Made 2022” (groups 1 and 2).
• MVN staff, 2nd place, community guide special sections, “Health & Wellness 2022” (groups 1 and 2).
• Joe Novotny, 1st place, special section cover design, “Valley Vows 2023” (groups 1 and 2).
• Marcy Stamper, 1st place, breaking news story, “Valley copes with brutal winter assault.”
• Sandra Strieby, 3rd place, health or medical story, “Getting the most from telehealth.”
• Marcy Stamper, 2nd place, environmental story, “Residents team up to tackle wildfire risks.”
• Olivia Palmer, 3rd place, environmental story, “Tribes launch fish habitat projects.”
• Ashley Lodato, 2nd place, business news, “Not just filling in.”
• Marcy Stamper, 3rd place, business news, “New owners thrilled with Sun Mountain Lodge.”
• Olivia Palmer, 2nd place, education story, “Planting the seeds for a lifetime of learning.”
• Marcy Stamper, 1st place, crime and courts story, “Final judgements: Culp reflects on a long career.”
• Ashley Lodato and Leki Albright Lodato, 1st place, social issue story, “Tackling teens’ mental health issues.”
• Ann McCreary, 1st place, election story, “Rodriguez, Hughes vie for county coroner position.”
• Don Nelson, 1st place, news headlines, “Mooove aside, please” (groups 1-4).
• Marcy Stamper, 3rd place, long feature story, “Walking a fine line.”
• Marcy Stamper, 2nd place, short feature story, “Who gives a hoot what owls eat?”
• Ashley Lodato, 2nd place, business feature story, “A people place by design.”
• Sandra Strieby, 3rd place, business feature story, “Ancient grains for modern times.”
• Ann McCreary, 2nd place, animal feature story, “A desperate year for bears.”
• Marcy Stamper, 1st place, history feature story, “North Cascades Highway brought lasting changes.”
• Olivia Palmer, 3rd place, arts feature story, “Pipestone Music’s summer camp scores.”
• Marcy Stamper, 1st place, long personality profile, “Dave Chantler’s universe of interests left a local legacy.”
• Ashley Lodato, 3rd place, long personality profile, “Cramer well cast as The Merc’s next executive director.”
• Ashley Lodato, 3rd place, sports personality profile, “Tim Lewis follows the bouncing ball” (groups 1 and 2).
• Ashley Lodato, 2nd place, short personality profile, “Rodeo queen has tight bonds with the Methow Valley” (groups 1 and 2).
• Joe Novotny, 2nd place, feature page design, “Personal choices, personal stories” (groups 1 and 2).
• Joe Novotny, 1st place, front page design, “New county software streamlines record requests.”
• Don Nelson, 3rd place, editorials, “In the deep end.”
• Don Nelson, 3rd place, editorial pages (groups 1-4).
• Don Nelson, 3rd place, general interest column, “No Bad Days” (groups 2 and 3).
• Solveig Torvik, 3rd place, topical column, “Hello?” (groups 1-4).
• Steve Mitchell, 2nd place, photo essay, “Methow Valley Labor Day Rodeo.”
• Steve Mitchell, 2nd place, general news photo, “Winthrop Balloon Roundup.”
• Steve Mitchell, 1st place, feature photo, “Mooove aside, please.”
• Steve Mitchell, 3rd place, portrait photo, “In the spirit.”
• Ashley Lodato, 1st place, pictorial photo, “Bright spots.”
• Marcy Stamper, 2nd place, pictorial photo, “Frosty.”
• Steve Mitchell, 3rd place, sports action photo, “The Great Puckaroo Roundup hockey.”
• Steve Mitchell, 2nd place, sports feature photo, “Hightailing it.”
• Steve Mitchell, 3rd place, sports feature photo, “Erik’s run.”
