MADISON – The Wisconsin Newspaper Association honored the work of newspapers across the state during its 2024 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet on Friday, March 7, 2025 at The Madison Concourse Hotel in downtown Madison.

The Pierce County Journal, which is in Division D (non-daily circulation of 2,250 – 4,499), received the following awards:

• First place, Best Special Section, Salute to Service, Journal staff
• First place, Reporting on Local Government, Sarah Nigbor
• Second place, Local Sports Column, “From Horseplay to Heroes,” Greg Peters
• Third place, Artistic Photo (That Girl Brie food display), Sarah Nigbor
• Third place, Reporting on Local Education, Sarah Nigbor
• Honorable Mention, Niche Product, Pierce County Fair tab, Journal staff
• Honorable Mention, Health Care Coverage, “FFA, Webster family shines light on farmer mental health,” Sarah Nigbor
• Honorable Mention, Sports News Story, “RFHS head hockey coach asked to step down,” Joe Peine

“Newspapers play a vital role in our society in an age where information is abundant yet often fragmented. We need to be a beacon of reliable news and the integrity of our work is more important than ever,” said WNA President Kris O’Leary, who is publisher of the Tribune Phonograph, Record Review, Tribune Record Gleaner, The Star News and Courier Sentinel newspapers, during her convention remarks. “We must champion journalistic ethics, uphold the values of accuracy and fairness, and strive to amplify the voices that need to be heard.”
“The annual convention is a reunion of our newspaper heroes, the people who work so hard to reach the community, to keep an eye on government, to tell the stories that need to be told, to connect business people with our readers, to make a difference in this world,” said Scott Peterson, President of the WNA Foundation. “You are doing the job newspapers were invented for, and, if you are here, it’s because you are among the best of the best.”

The 2024 contest received 2,134 entries from 105 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024, and were judged by members of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

This year’s WNA Convention was sponsored by News Tracker, WisPolitics, Godfrey & Kahn, Multi Media Channels, Coda, Milwaukee Press Club, TecnaviaPress, Cedar Grove Cheese and Wisconsin State Journal.