The Edgerton Reporter won five advertising and seven editorial awards in the 2026 National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. The NNA announced the winners on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Editorial awards — The Reporter earned a second place, three third place and three honorable mention awards in the contest.
The judges bestowed the second place award for a story series about local history.
The third place awards came in the Best Serious Column, Best Editorial and Best Sports Section/Pages categories.
The Reporter received honorable mention awards for Best Obituary Tribute, Best Special News, Sports, Niche Feature Section or Edition and a Story Series about Preserving Local History.
Advertising awards — The Reporter earned a first place award, one second place, two third place awards and an honorable mention in the contest.
Judges bestowed a first and a third place award for Best Newspaper Promotion, a second and a third place for Best Multiple Advertiser Section and an honorable mention for Best Sales Promotion or edition.
In the 2026 Better Newspaper Editorial Contest, newspapers submitted 1,552 entries; in the Better Newspaper Advertising Contest, newspapers submitted 246 entries; for a total of 1,798 entries.
Entries came from 93 newspapers in 32 states, and judges distributed 724 awards.
The winner’s book and a list of awards by newspaper are available at: https://www.nnafoundation.org/better-newspaper-contest
Judging was performed primarily by more than 60 active community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals. One judge said, “The final decisions were incredibly challenging this year, as there was an immense volume of exceptionally high-quality work to evaluate. Every single participant should be deeply proud of what they submitted!”
Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association (NNA) is the voice of America’s community newspapers and is one of the largest newspaper associations in the country. The NNA Foundation (NNAF) is the educational arm of the NNA. Its mission is to promote news literacy, protect the First Amendment, and enhance the quality, role and capabilities of community newspapers and community journalists.
