The Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia University’s official student newspaper, was honored with 19 awards at the West Virginia Press Association’s annual banquet on Saturday.
The newspaper won seven first-place awards in this year’s competition and earned third place in general excellence of Division 2 – daily newspapers with a 24,999 to 15,000 circulation. The newspaper, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2012, won more than twice as many awards this year as it did in 2011.
“I am so proud of the students and staff at The Daily Athenaeum for these achievements. The newspaper has a long history of providing a hands-on work environment for students to excel,” said Sabrina Cave, assistant vice president for Student Affairs Communications. “The experience students gain outside the classroom at the DA gives them a distinct advantage in their future professions.”
The newspaper won two awards for its coverage of the death of Osama bin Laden and the reaction it had on Morgantown and WVU students. The advertising, newsroom and production staffs combined for six sports-related awards.
“Running around Morgantown documenting the night Osama bin Laden was killed was one of the most memorable nights I’ve had at the DA. Being thrown into a situation like that is every journalists dream,” said former Managing Editor John Terry. “Anytime we can be recognized for our work is a special thing. We put many hours into producing a good paper for the student body and are certainly proud of our achievements.”
The Daily Athenaeum competes in the Division 2 category against newspapers like The Fairmont Times West Virginian and The Inter-Mountain.
“Winning a total of 19, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards and placing third in General Excellence, competing against commercial dailies across the state in both the West Virginia Press Association’s Ad Awards and Better Newspaper contests illustrates the level of success that The Daily Athenaeum has achieved,” said Alan Waters, general manager at the Daily Athenaeum.
The complete list of advertising winners:- Andrew Klenk – first place best spot color ad over � page
- Robbie Netz – first place best small ad campaign
- Kyle Hess – first place best single black and white ad under � page
- Jami Christopher – second place best recruitment ad
- Production and sports staff – second place best special sports section
- Valerie Bennett – third place best single black and white ad under � page
- Cody Schuler – first place best sports columnist
- Staff – first place best editorial page
- David Ryan and John Terry – first place best written news story
- John Terry – first place best cartoon drawing/graphic
- Michael Carvelli – second place best sports columnist
- Tony Dobies – second place best sports feature writing
- David Ryan – second place best lifestyle pages
- Staff – second place best single issues
- Jeremiah Yates – second place best columnist
- John Terry and Tony Dobies – third place best sports feature writing
- Staff – third place best sports section
- Mackenzie Mays and John Terry – third place best coverage of legal issues/the courts
The Daily Athenaeum has had a history of recent success in competitions. In 2010, the newspaper was named the third-best student publication by the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2007, it was ranked as the eighth-best newspaper.
-WVU-
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CONTACT: Sabrina Cave, Student Affairs
304-293-2506, Sabrina.Cave@mail.wvu.edu
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