On Friday afternoon, the Alabama Press Association announced winners in its 2019 Better Newspaper Contest, and The Valley Times-News received numerous accolades. The full list of 2019 APA winners will be announced June 29 at the APA banquet in Orange Beach, however the Times-News received four awards for editorial work performed in 2018 on Friday.

“The makeup of the editorial staff of the Valley Times-News has changed significantly over the course of the last 12 months,” said President and Publisher Baker Ellis. “Our current editorial staff has done significant and important work in the Greater Valley Area in a short amount of time, and the results show this to be true. I’m proud of our entire staff, and while we do not make winning awards our primary objective, the recognition our editorial staff has received from the APA is symbolic of the progress we have made in the last year.”

The Valley Times-News competes in Division B, reserved for daily newspapers with daily circulations ranging from 21,999 and below and placing the newspaper in competition with some of the largest newspapers in the state.

Here are the awards won by the Times-News Staff:

– First place to Rashad Milligan and Daniel Evans for Best Sports News In-Depth Coverage, awarded for “Finally!” which was awarded for coverage of Chambers Academy’s football championship.

– Third place to Daniel Evans for Best Photo Essay, awarded for coverage of Chambers Academy’s football championship.

– Third place to the staff for Online Breaking News Coverage, awarded for “Police searching for suspect in Capital Bank Robbery” related to a West Point robbery in December 2018.

– Third place to the staff for Best Editorial, awarded for “Think Twice Before Clicking Share” related to an editorial discussing social media news coverage.