From STAFF REPORTS

WHEELING — The past, present and future of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register were among those celebrated this past weekend during West Virginia Press Association Hall of Fame events held at Oglebay’s Wilson Lodge.

The weekend was highlighted by the WVPA Hall of Fame inductions Saturday, which included the late executive editor of The Intelligencer and News-Register, J. Michael Myer. Myer served as executive editor of both publications for 23 years.

Prior to that, he was editor of the Wheeling News-Register, a position he assumed in 1991. At the time of his death from COVID, Myer was president of the trustees of the West Virginia Press Association Foundation, the educational non-profit supported by the state’s newspaper industry.

Myer was a past president of the Press Association and winner of the Adam R. Kelly Award, the West Virginia newspaper industry’s highest honor, and numerous editorial and writing awards.

His 46-year newspaper career included stints as a reporter, weekly newspaper publisher and editor and then editor of the daily newspapers. Myer was well-known throughout West Virginia and Ohio for his daily editorials and columns that focused on local and state issues.

“Mike Myer was a newspaperman. Plain and simple. His life revolved around a couple things: his love for his family, his love for newspapering and his love for West Virginia. It really is about as simple as that,” said John McCabe, editor of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, as he inducted Myer on Saturday into the West Virginia Press Association Hall of Fame. “Mike loved the power of newspapers to bring communities together. For more than 45 years, he started each morning with the simple thought of how he could best serve others and our communities through the pages of the newspaper. He represented our industry utilizing a principled, by-the-book approach that all of us would do well to remember today.”

During Saturday’s ceremony, former WVPA Executive Director Don Smith also offered a remembrance of the late publisher of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, G. Ogden Nutting, who died in August at age 87. Smith read a tribute to Nutting, who was a member of the WVPA Hall of Fame Committee, sharing stories of Nutting’s work with reporters and talking of his efforts to develop community newspapers in West Virginia.

Other Hall of Fame inductees included:

– Mary Helen Hedges, 1921-2007, Roane County Reporter and Spencer Newspapers, inducted by David Hedges, her son and publisher of the Spencer Newspapers.

– William Harper, 1808-1887, Morgantown Post, inducted by Smith.

– Don Marsh, 1927-1999, The Charleston Gazette, inducted by Smith and Dr. Clay Marsh, the inductee’s son.

– Joe Mills, 1939-1990, Wirt County Journal, inducted by Jim McGoldrick, WVPA board member and publisher of the Wirt County Journal and owner of West Central Publishing.

– Samuel ‘Craig’ Shaw, 1874-1957, Moundsville Daily Echo, inducted by Smith.

The weekend’s events also included honoring the WVPA’s inaugural class of Rising Stars and MVPs. The association’s Rising Stars are outstanding employees who have been with their respective publications five years or fewer. Among those was Nick Henthorn, the sports editor of The Intelligencer and News-Register.

The association’s MVPs are outstanding employees with at least five years at their respective publications. Among those was Brian Clutter, operations manager of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register.

Other Rising Stars honored were Samantha Cochran of the Tyler Star News, Jennifer Lloyd, Production Specialist for Braxton Newspapers, Rebecca Stalnaker, Editor of the West Virginia Daily News and Charles Young, reporter for WV News and The Clarksburg Exponent Telegram.

Other MVPs honored were Janet M. Six, Office Manager of Braxton Newspapers, Sonia Swisher, Promotions and Events for WV News and The Clarksburg Exponent Telegram. Susan Smith-Linton, General Manager for West Virginia Daily News, Vance Ash of the Tyler Star News, Christina Myer, Editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and daughter of J. Michael Myer, Jody Crouse, Managing Editor of the Morgan Messenger, and Andrew Hedges, Production Manager of Spencer Newspapers.