The Reporter, Times Review rock New York newspaper awards
The New York Press Association honored your hometown paper this past weekend with eight prizes for journalism excellence — including five first place prizes — at its annual conference in Saratoga Springs.
The Reporter brought home top awards in two of NYPA’s most coveted categories, Coverage of the Environment and overall Writer of the Year. Staff reporter Julie Lane won both.
Members of the Iowa Press Association judged the statewide contest, which included more than 3,000 entries in 64 categories.
The Reporter claimed first place honors in Best Front Page, Best Art photo by Eleanor P. Labrozzi and top prize for Special Publications for the 2014 Shelter Island 10K Journal. Graphic Artist Danielle Doll designed the journal.
The Reporter took second place in the Past Presidents’ Award, the only honor to measure all the elements of a newspaper. The judges categorized the Reporter as a newspaper incorporating “good graphic design, creative ads and great news coverage. This paper easily gives the first place winner a run for its money in this category.”
That first place winner is the Reporter’s sister paper, The News Review.
Times Review Media Group rocked the awards, with our sister paper The Suffolk Times named Newspaper of the Year over the more than 175 publications entered in this year’s contest. The Suffolk Times also claimed the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence — named for the former Suffolk Times owner and publisher — awarded to the publication earning the most editorial contest points. It’s the fifth time a Times Review Media Group publication has taken home that award in the past nine years and the first for The Suffolk Times since 2009.
A second place prize came back to the Island for Best Editorial page, with the judges noting that page eight of the Reporter through the year contained “strong editorial writing and clean design making for an attractive editorial page for readers.”
Community News Editor Jo Ann Kirkland — whose brilliant photographs grace every issue of the Reporter — and staff photographer Beverlea Walz teamed up for a third place honor for Picture Story.
The prize was awarded for a photo spread on the first page of Around the Island covering the annual “5K Run/Walk” campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness. The judges were delighted with this story in pictures, especially the “colors and layout. The use of the breast cancer awareness ribbon in the middle, with a strategically placed picture in the loop of the ribbon and fanned text at the bottom were the touches that made this an award winner.”
Art Director Charles Tumino shares this award and deserves to take a bow for his contributions to all of the honors bestowed on the Reporter by NYPA.
The Reporter staff was most proud of Ms. Lane for being honored as Writer of the Year, as well as her top prize in coverage of the environment, an issue that the Reporter has taken the lead on here. As for her prize winning series “Wastewater Worries,” the judges said: “Water and sewer stories aren’t usually compelling, but this writer changed the rules. Great reporting, well written — great job!”
As for Writer of the Year, an award given to the journalist who achieves excellence in a mix of categories, including straight news, features and profiles, the judges said Ms. Lane “is a ‘go-to’ reporter who can cover just about anything. This writer has a nose for a good story but also the eye and depth to tell it in a compelling way. The leads are masterfully done and the tension in the narrative is sustained until the last sentence. Great work!”
Ms. Lane has been with the Times Review Media Group for 15 years. She holds an undergraduate degree with a double major in journalism and political science from the University of Rhode Island and an MBA from Long Island University with a concentration in international business.
Congratulations to Ms. Lane, Ms. Kirkland, Ms. Labrozzi, Mr. Tumino, Ms. Doll and Editor Ambrose Clancy for their awards achieved though hard work, skill and dedication, which the New York Press Association has recognized and honored.
