The Republican and its staff members earned five first-place awards and eight second- and third-place awards presented during the conference on Feb. 12 at the Boston Park-Plaza Hotel.
Meghan Cunningham, left, of the New England Mutiny, collides with Megan Ashforth, of the Connecticut Passion, during a June 2010 game of the Women's Premier Soccer League Action at Chicopee Comprehensive High School. This photo won an award for Michael S. Gordon from the New England Newspaper & Press Association.
BOSTON – The Republican and several members of its editorial team were among the recipients of top honors awarded recently by the New England Newspaper & Press Association at its annual conference.
The Republican and its staff members earned five first-place awards and eight second- and third-place awards presented during the conference on Feb. 12 at the Boston Park-Plaza Hotel.
“We were very pleased at the number of awards and the scope of categories,” said Wayne E. Phaneuf, The Republican’s executive editor. “To be recognized in sports, humor, news, arts and entertainment, business, photos and features really shows the depth of our efforts in what we supply our readers and followers in print and online at MassLive.com every day.”
The competition, involving newspapers in the six New England states, drew some 3,000 entries in a broad range of categories, including writing, design, photography and advertising. The Republican competed in the category for newspapers with daily circulation of more than 30,000.
Two special sections of The Republican, Outlook 2010 and Talented Teens, were recognized as the tops in New England in their categories.
The Outlook section, an annual effort that reviews business and economic development, was honored as the best special section; Talented Teens, which recognizes outstanding young people in music, art and dance, was honored as tops in a category marking community involvement in newspapers.
“The recognition of these two special sections demonstrate the important role that teamwork plays in our newsroom each day,” said managing editor Cynthia G. Simison. “Neither section would be possible were it not for the invaluable work by our dedicated editors, writers and photographers together.”
Simison said business writer Jim Kinney and production editors Patricia Thompson and Kristen DeBurro deserve recognition for the work they did on the Outlook 2010 section, while Newspaper in Education and Lifestyle editor Anne-Gerard Flynn has been the “guiding light” for the development and continuation of Talented Teens.
Two veteran writers, Ray Kelly, who is an assistant managing editor and serves as entertainment editor, and Jack Flynn each received first-place awards.
Kelly was recognized in the “Arts & Entertainment Reporting” category for his July 25 Sunday Republican article, “‘Secret Selves:’ Leonard Nimoy exhibits on display in Northampton and at MASS MoCA,” highlighting the actor-photographer’s work involving some Bay State residents.
Flynn received his recognition in the “Religion Reporting” category for his May 9 Sunday Republican article, “Priest’s effort meets silence,” about the Rev. James Scahill, of East Longmeadow, having been thrust into the international spotlight when he urged Pope Benedict XVI to deal more forcefully with sex abuse cases or resign.
Also among the top award winners was retired city editor-turned-humor columnist Bill Whitney, of West Springfield. He was honored as the top humor columnist by the association for his column, “Just Browsing” which appears regularly in The Republican’s weekly Plus Papers.
The recognition of the Outlook 2010 section came on the eve of publication of this year’s Outlook section; the judges in the newspaper contest called it “a beefy, thorough look at the local economy. Well organized with good design and graphic elements.”
Wrote the judges about the Talented Teens section, “This section spotlights young talent in a way that celebrates not only the skills of young musicians, artists and dancers but also the community support that helped pave the way for them. The section is visually compelling and involves community collaboration and input at multiple steps.”
Sports writer and columnist Ron Chimelis tied to receive second-place honors for two of his columns, one of which addressed the issue of bullying in the wake of suicide last year of South Hadley High School student Phoebe Prince. That column, “Bullying concerns all of us,” drew praise from the judges which cited it as “terrific with thoughtful insight on how to spot the warning signs and how to respond.”
Second-place honors were also captured by photographer Michael Gordon and writers Patrick Johnson and Lori Stabile.
Gordon was recognized for his June 26 photograph of a Women’s Premier Soccer League game between the New England Mutiny and the Connecticut Passion at Chicopee Comprehensive High School.
Johnson was recognized in the spot-news category for his work on reporting the July 12 rescue of a group of teenagers and their adult guide from Mount Tom. Stabile received her award for the April 25 Sunday Republican story, “Heroin making a comeback,” in which police across Western Massachusetts warned of crimes, from bank robberies to housebreaks, that are resulting from abuse of the drug.
Flynn also received a third-place award in the category of history reporting for his story, “ACORN grew from Springfield Riot,” a look back at the Springfield beginnings of Wade Rathke, founder of the scandal-prone Associations of Community Organizations for Reform Now. It was published on Oct. 25, 2009.
Writer Elizabeth Roman was awarded third-place recognition in the category of racial or ethnic issues for her story, “Refugees work hard to fit in,” that was published Nov. 1, 2009, and addressed the settlement of refugees from the Karen tribe, a Burmese people, in Western Massachusetts.
The Republican also received a third-place award for its Weekend section in the category of Arts & Entertainment section.