National Better Newspaper Contest winners announced

Jul 15, 2024

Judging results have been processed and winners of the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s 2024 Better Newspaper Contest and Better Newspaper Advertising Contest have been linked below.

Winners will be recognized at the awards ceremony held Friday, Sept. 27, during NNAF’s 138th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Omaha, Nebraska. To register to attend the awards, please go to https://www.nnafoundation.org/convention.

There were 1,513 entries in the Better Newspaper Editorial Contest and 245 entries in the Better Newspaper Advertising Contest for a total of 1,758 entries. There were 676 awards won by 92 newspapers in 32 states.

The Wyoming Press Association was awarded the fifth annual “Best of NNA” Award for their 109 winning entries, beating out California with 68 wins and Iowa with 59 wins. This is their fourth award for excellence in editorial and advertising.

Judging is still in process for the Michael Kramer Best Public Notice Journalism Award sponsored by the Public Notice Resource Center and should be announced soon.

The winner’s book and a list of awards by newspaper are available here: https://www.nnafoundation.org/better-newspaper-contest

Judging was performed primarily by active community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals.

Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association (NNA) is the voice of America’s community newspapers and is the one of the largest newspaper associations in the country. The NNA Foundation (NNAF) is the educational arm of the NNA. Its mission is to promote news literacy, protect the First Amendment, and enhance the quality, role and capabilities of community newspapers and community journalists.

NNA/NNAF Executive Director Lynne Lance would like to personally thank the 60+ judges who took the time out of their very busy schedules to judge this contest. If you are interested in judging this contest or the many other state contests, please sign up here: https://nna.formstack.com/forms/judgennaf

Laura Vroman, editor of the Valentine (Nebraska) Midland News, said of her advertising judging experience, “I like doing these. I think they’re educational, interesting, and fun! When faced with a bunch of ads, what really does grab a reader’s attention?!”

Judge Toni Hopper, managing editor of The Marlow (Oklahoma) Review, said “These health stories are the stories needed in more communities. Thank you for allowing me to judge. These reporters are definitely on their game.”

Access the winner’s lists here: https://www.nnafoundation.org/better-newspaper-contest

Please look over your winning entries carefully and then fill out this form with any edits and preferences for mailing by August 1, 2024: https://nna.formstack.com/forms/nnafbnc