MORGANTOWN – At the annual West Virginia Press Association Better Newspapers Contest held August 2 through the 4, the Wetzel Chronicle and Tyler Star News snagged 12 awards in total. Of the awards given, four were first-place awards, two were second-place, and six were third-place.

The Tyler Star News advertising staff received three third-place honors. The first award given for advertising was under the category Best Theme Pages (Retail) for their submission of the Spotlight On Business Ad. In regards to this submission, the judges commented, “Extremely clean display. Nice overall collection and ad relevance.”

Under the category Best Special Section, the advertising staff submitted the Holiday Recipe Guide, which received one of the third-place awards which were previously mentioned.

“This is a really nice compilation of content, and the ability to cut out the recipes makes the section charmingNice job.” the judges said of the recipe guide.

Also achieving third-place under the Best Classified Display Ad was the advertising submission Welder Needed.

The editorial staff of the Tyler Star News received a first-place award for the Best Single Issue for their submission of the Tyler Star News’ November 14, 2018 paper. The editorial staff also received third-place honors for Best Front Page for their submission of the Tyler Star News’ March 28 Front Page.

The Tyler Star News sports staff received one first-place award for Best Sports Special Section. This award was given for the 2018 Football Preview.

The following awards were also given out to individual staff writers at the Tyler Star News:

Former Editor Lauren Matthews was given first-place honors under Best Business, Economic, or Labor Reporting for a piece titled Local Business and Economic Coverage. Matthews also obtained a third-place award for the submission of the Middlebourne Christmas under the class Photo Essay.

Current Editor/Sports Writer Ed Parsons was awarded with second-place honors as Best Sports Columnist for the submission of his column The Press Box.

The Wetzel Chronicle advertising staff joined the Tyler Star News in receiving two awards for advertising.

First-place honors was given for the submission of the Holiday Gift Subscription under the class of Best House Ad. The Chronicle advertising staff was also given a second-place award for their Home Rental Section in the category of Best Classified Display Ad.

Wetzel Chronicle Sports Writers Bruce Crawford and Ed Parsons won third-place honors for Best Sports Special Section. This award was won with the submission of All-Time Greatest – a story on area athletes.