Since 1929 WNPA members have had the opportunity to compete on a statewide basis against their peers in the annual Better Newspaper Contest. Papers of similar circulation compete against one another in advertising, design, news, and photography categories. The competition is judged by members of another state's press association. First-, second- and third-place winners in most categories receive certificates. Trophies are presented to the Feature Writer, News Writer, Photographer and Sportswriter of the Year. Winners of Community Service and General Excellence categories receive plaques.

In recent years the Washington Better Newspaper Contest has drawn about 2,800 entries from about 75-80 member newspapers. Many members publish a story or advertisement about the awards they win to promote their newspapers to the public. Awards can also come into play when newspapers evaluate the expertise of potential new staff members.

See the 2008 Better Newspaper Contest Winners

See images of the 2008 BNC winners in advertising, special sections and photography in the Flash file links below. The files are quite large, so those with dial-up Internet access would best view them on a computer at your local library. A spreadsheet listing the 2008 BNC winners is available here.

View the Flash files here:

Ads and Special Sections

Photography

News, Part 1 (Category 301 Best News Story through Category 315 Best Personality Profile, Long)

News, Part 2 (Category 316 Best Personality Profile, Short, through 338 Community Service)

Winners of the 2008 Washington Better Newspaper Contest were chosen from a total of 2,837 entries submitted by 80 member newspapers. The Louisiana Press Association judged WNPA's contest this year. Winners were announced at the Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner during WNPA's 121st annual convention, Oct. 2-4, 2008, at the Red Lion Hotel-Yakima Center.

2008 Community Service Winners
First Place: Davenport Times, Mark Smith
Second Place: Journal of the San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor), Staff
Third Place: Lake Stevens Journal, Desiree Cahoon, Kevin Hulten, Pam Stevens, Chuck Tuck

2008 General Excellence Winners

Circulation Group I
First Place: Marysville Globe, Stuart Chernis
Second Place (tie): Ritzville-Adams County Journal, Stephen McFadden & Arlington Times, Stuart Chernis
Third Place: Leavenworth Echo, Bill Forhan

Circulation Group II
First Place: Mercer Island Reporter, Mary Grady
Second Place: Nisqually Valley News, Yelm
Third Place: Anacortes American, Jack Darnton

Circulation Group III
First Place: Sequim Gazette, Sue Ellen Riesau
Second Place: Chinook Observer, Long Beach
Third Place: Lynden Tribune, Mike Lewis

Circulation Group IV
First Place: The Peninsula Gateway, Gig Harbor, George LeMasurier
Second Place: The Herald, Puyallup, George LeMasurier
Third Place: Auburn Reporter, Karen Henry

2009 Contest Rules

Rules and circulation groups for the 2009 Better Newspaper Contest will be available here in the spring.

Expanded features of 2008 BNC Web site 

Click here to visit the contest Web site produced by SmallTownPapers, a WNPA affiliate member and a Major Sponsor of the WNPA Convention in 2007 and 2008. 

New features added to the contest Web site for 2008 are the capability for WNPA member newspapers to generate and print entry forms from the Web site (a password-protected function), and for WNPA staff to export that information into spreadsheets. The site also allows WNPA staff to confirm members' entries and, for categories judged online, to assign categories to judges by name. 

In 2007, the site's first year, judges were able to view scans of the News Division entries online and enter winners' names and comments in Web-based forms. 

The n ew functionality expected in 2009 will allow judges to enter comments directly on the site, rather than in Web forms, and the WNPA staff to be able to sort and search entries by numerous attributes.