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, Wisconsin.
The 2024 Newspapers of the Year were Superior Telegram, Weekly Division, and (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal, Daily Division.
“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.
Best in Division winners were:
- Division E (non-daily circulation of 2,249 or less): Northwoods River News, Rhinelander
- Division D (non-daily circulation of 2,250 – 4,499): Superior Telegram
- Division C (non-daily circulation of at least 4,500): Peninsula Pulse, Baileys Harbor
- Division B (daily circulation of less than 9,999): Herald Times Reporter, Manitowoc
- Division A (daily circulation of at least 10,000): Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
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.
A link to the special tabloid section containing the judges’ comments, a list of winning entries and more can be found here. The digital display for the BNC may be accessed here.
