Morgan Messenger owner and publisher Todd Buzzerd accepted a General Excellence second place award from the president of the West Virginia Press Association during the group’s annual award banquet in Charleston on Saturday, October 11.
The paper earned the award in the category of weekly newspapers with a circulation of 3,000 and above – the state’s largest category of papers.
The Times Record & Roane County Reporter of Roane County won the first place for General Excellence, which is an award calculated from the total number of editorial and advertising awards earned by that paper in the annual Better Newspapers Contest.
The Morgan Messenger earned second place in General Excellence, and The Hampshire Review in Romney won third place.
Each year, the press association holds the contest to judge the reporting, design, advertising, photography, videography and community service of newspapers during the previous year.
In 2025, the New York Press Association and The New York News Publishers Foundation judged West Virginia’s entries.
This year, 41 newspapers submitted a total of 2,390 entries.
The Morgan Messenger won a total of 22 awards for work from 2024.
The newspaper staff under the direction of Managing Editor Jody Crouse won First Place for Best House Ad for the front page of our Christmas issue featuring Reggie, the 911 dog.
The Messenger staff also won:
–First Place, Best Editorial Page
–Second Place, Best Front Page
–Second Place, Best Headline Writing
–Second Place, Best Newspaper Design
–Third Place, Best Newspaper Design
–Second Place, Best Single Issue.
The Morgan Messenger staff includes Managing Editor Jody Crouse, editor Kate Shunney, layout designer Rebecca Cain, reporters Lisa Schauer, Geoff Fox, Jamie Harris, photographers Lori Younker and Betsy Hovermale, proofer Cheyenne McCumbee, bookkeeper/manager Bev Buzzerd, circulation manager Flip Henry, distribution staff Patty Riggleman and Morgan Buzzerd. Longtime news staff Trish Rudder and Kate Evans both retired in 2025, but their work earned several awards.
The following staff members earned awards for their work in 2024:
–Betsy Hovermale won First Place for Sports Photography for her wrestling coverage.
— Kate Evans won First Place for Best News Feature for her story about Morgan County Public Library’s 100th anniversary.
Evans also won Third Place for Best Business, Economic or Labor Reporting for her story the impact of drought on local farmers. Evans also won, with editor Kate Shunney, a First Place for Coverage of Breaking News for their coverage of school threats and safety.
— Trish Rudder won First Place for Best Reporting Generated from Public Notice for her coverage of the Town of Bath’s move to institute a municipal sales tax.
–Trish Rudder and editor Kate Shunney won Second Place for Best Reporting Generated from Public Notice for their coverage of the Town of Bath’s discussions about protecting public water while agreeing to be part of a county water line extension project.
–Editor Kate Shunney won a Second and Third Place award for Best Coverage of Breaking News for her stories about the CSX trail derailment in February and about a shooting of four individuals at a local party in August.
Shunney won a First Place and Second Place in Best Legal Affairs Reporting for her coverage of the Supreme Court’s denial of an appeal by Andy McCauley of his murder conviction, and of her story about the decision by K.C. Bohrer not to take office as Morgan County Magistrate.
Shunney also won a Second Place for Best Business, Economic or Labor Reporting.
The Morgan Messenger’s editorial page swept the category in weekly newspapers for Best Single Editorial. Editor Kate Shunney won First, Second and Third Place for editorials she penned that ran in separate weeks during 2024, including editorials about why the paper doesn’t use AI in news reporting and the importance of public water reliability and public transparency.
Shunney won Second and Third Place for Best Lifestyles Feature for stories about Morgan County’s people and traditions.
Statewide, the Charleston Gazette-Mail won Newspaper of the Year for their reporting, advertising and editorial excellence.
“What a talented group of people we have in our industry,” said West Virginia Press contest coordinator Stella Gill. One of the New York press judges commented to Gill, “I must say there’s some fine journalism going on in West Virginia.”
The Morgan Messenger was founded in November of 1893 by S.S. Buzzerd. His family still owns and runs the weekly paper, which is dedicated to the coverage of Morgan County news, sports and community events.
