June 30, 2022 at 10:57 a.m.
River News honored with 21 awards from WNA
River News honored with 21 awards from WNA
By River News Staff-
The River News competed in Division E for papers with a circulation of less than 2,250 that publish two or fewer times per week.
Among the highlights, the River News was judged to have the best front page of all Division E entries. The paper also won for Best Sports Pages. River News editor Heather Schaefer, along with former staff reporter Jamie Taylor, were awarded first place for their reporting on local education and the paper received a third-place award in the prestigious General Excellence category.
"It's always great to be recognized by your peers for your hard work," River News publisher Gregg Walker stated. "Awards come from a great staff and journalists that care for their communities and that is what we have. I'm super proud of their accomplishments and so should our readers."
According to the WNA, this year's contest received 2,117 entries from 98 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021, and were judged by members of the West Virginia Press Association.
The Best Front Page award recognizes overall front page excellence. Criteria include layout and design, effective headlines, reader appeal, photography, writing clarity and overall news coverage.
"Clean design, good story count and easy to read," read judge's comments provided by the WNA regarding the River News front page.
The Best Sports Pages award recognizes overall excellence in sports pages. Criteria include concept, extent of coverage, writing quality, photography and design. In its submission for the award, the paper included sections that spotlighted the Rhinelander High School football team's double-overtime victory over arch-rival Antigo to kick off the 2020 season, a feature on Rhinelander swimmer Malia Francis' experience at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June 2021 and the Rhinelander boys' hockey team's sectional semifinal victory over perennial power Northland Pines in February 2021.
"Excellent section," the judge's comments read. "Great front dedicated to the big game. Others pages are well done and easy to read. Very clean look. Great photos."
The award marked the second time in three years the River News took home top honors for its sports section, which was also awarded best in state in a different circulation division in 2019.
"It's always an honor to be recognized by your peers for a job well done," River News sports editor Jeremy Mayo said. "Moreover, it's an award that recognizes the noteworthy achievements of our student-athletes, which we strive to highlight in every edition. Rhinelander sports has certainly provided many memorable stories over the last few years and I'm grateful to be able to tell them."
Schaefer and Taylor received top honors for their coverage of a couple of hot-button issues for the School District of Rhinelander during the summer of 2021 - the debate over a proposed a gender equity policy and the decision to make the wearing of facemasks optional when school went back into session in the fall of 2021.
"Coverage of local schools - from chronicling our student-athletes' exploits on the playing fields to our efforts to explain the critical decisions made by the school board - is an essential part of a local newspaper and that has never been more true than in the last few years as elected officials and school administrators grappled with the impact of a global pandemic and other equally complex issues," Schaefer stated. "I'm honored that the judges saw fit to recognize our work with a first-place award."
Awards were broken into four subcategories. The River News won five overall awards, seven awards for reporting, seven awards for photography and two awards in advertising.
In addition to first-place awards for Best Front Page and Best Sports pages, the River News received third place in General Excellence, third place for Best Headlines and received honorable mention to the Best Special Section for its commemorative piece in December 2020 celebrating the construction of the Hodag Dome.
Schaefer and Taylor received second place for their breaking news coverage of Hannah Miller's homicide in June 2021 and the subsequent manhunt for her alleged killer, Christopher Anderson. Schaefer also received a third-place award for her ongoing coverage of former Rhinelander city administrator Daniel Guild, who eventually had charges of misconduct in public office dismissed through a deferred prosecution agreement.
Mayo took home both second- and third-place honors in the Best Sports News Story category. His report on the RHS football team's victory over Antigo in September 2020 received second-place honors, while his story chronicling the RHS girls' swim team's 2020 WIAA Division 2 state championship finished third.
Investigative reporter Richard Moore earned third place in Division E for a piece highlighting a potential conflict of interest for an appeals court judge who heard arguments over an alleged walking quorum held by former Rhinelander mayor Chris Frederickson and four members of the Rhinelander City Council seeking to reprimand then council president George Kirby. Taylor received honorable mention for his reporting on local government.
Taylor also received three awards for photography, a first-place award in spot news for a fatal traffic accident near Rhinelander in September 2020; a second-place award in the feature category highlighting the 2021 Oneida County Fair and a third-place in general news for an Election Day photo in November 2020.
River News contributor Dean Hall earned a third-place award for an up-close shot of a wild bald eagle published in February 2021. Mayo received two honorable mentions in photography for sports feature photo and photo essay, while contributor Bob Mainhardt received honorable mention in general news, documenting some of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that were administered to School District of Rhinelander employees in March 2021.
River News general manager Heather Holmes and graphic designer Buzzy Mode took home two advertising awards, a runner-up finish for Best Small Ad and a third-place award for Best Large Ad.
The River News' sister paper, The Lakeland Times in Minocqua, received 18 awards - including five first-place awards - in Division C. Those awards including Moore taking a first-place award in investigate reporting for a third consecutive year.
The Gazette in Janesville was named the daily Newspaper of the Year, while The Monroe Times was honored as this year's top weekly paper.
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