Reporter honored by the New York Press Association
The New York Press Association (NYPA) honored your hometown newspaper this past weekend with eight awards for editorial excellence.
The association’s “2015 Better Newspaper Contest” fielded nearly 3,000 entries from 177 newspapers across the state with circulations ranging from large to small and were judged by the Washington State Press Association. The prizes were awarded at NYPA’s spring conference, April 9-10, in Saratoga Springs.
The NYPA event recognized the Reporter in one of its most prestigious categories, “The Past President’s Award for General Excellence,” with a third place finish, noting that the Reporter is a “strong paper that obviously knows the neighborhood, young to old.”
Staff Reporter Julie Lane was singled out for honorable mention in the prestigious “Community Leadership” category for her series on the perilous condition of an environmentally essential salt marsh on the Island. Her work and the Reporter’s coverage focused attention on the issue and helped bring the marsh back to life.
In another important category, “Overall Design Excellence,” Art Director Charles Tumio and Editor Ambrose Clancy took bows for a third place finish. The judges noted that “the top end of this design category is hotly contested and any of the top three or five finishers could be in some other order.”
The judges praised the Reporter for “front pages that really sing, with dominant art and active headlines … An excellent product start to finish with proven attention to detail.”
Mr. Clancy was awarded a first prize in the “Best Column” competition, with the judges praising his “sardonic wit … Though, initially, you might think you’re just learning about his bad cold or some old granny, by the end of the piece you’ve walked away with something serious to ponder.”
The quality of the Reporter’s editorials was recognized with a third place award for “well stated views on local topics of concern.”
Peter Waldner, the Reporter’s staff cartoonist, also illustrated several front pages for the paper in 2015, and was awarded second and third place for “Graphic Illustration.” The judges described Mr. Waldner’s award winning work for the Reporter as “complex,” “fun” and “great.”
The Reporter’s 10K Journal caught the judge’s attention in the best “Niche Publication” category, with an honorable mention for having “consistent layout and design throughout … the package as a whole just works.”
On the advertising side of the paper, the Reporter took home a first place prize for Best House Ad/Ad Campaign.” Kendra Beavis and Sonja Reinholt were recognized for putting together a “clean and vibrant design” and producing work that highlighted “simplicity in text and beauty of photos.”
The Times Review Media Group, which includes the Reporter, The Suffolk Times, The Riverhead News-Review and northforker.com, collected the most points of any newspaper chain in the contest with 650, which was 375 more then the next nearest competitor.
Congratulations to all.
