The Blade's Joshua Lynsen has received the "Best Feature Story" award in the National Newspaper Association's 2008 Best Newspapers Contest for his piece on gay Iraq veteran Eric Alva. The award was announced on the organization's website, with a gala reception planned at its 122nd Annual Convention and Trade Show on Saturday, September 27, 2008, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"A New Kind of Fight," published on March 2, 2007, profiles Alva, a retired Marine staff sergeant, and the first US servicemember injured in the Iraq war. Alva, who lost a leg in March of 2003, decided to speak out against the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy after he and his partner came to the realization that Alva fought for rights they did not have equal access to.

"We are extremely proud of Joshua," Blade publisher Lynne Brown said, calling the award a "professional honor." "With this recognition, Josh contributes to this newspaper's 40-year tradition of excellence in journalism."

The Washington Blade, owned by Window Media and originally founded in 1969, is the longest continuously published LGBT newspaper in the United States.