Suffolk Times ranks among the best in annual contest

Times/Review Newsgroup took home more awards than any other community newspaper chain in the state at the New York Press Association’s annual convention in Saratoga Springs this past weekend.

The chain, which publishes The Suffolk Times, earned 610 total contest points in NYPA’s 2010 Better Newspaper Contest, 100 more points than the next closest newspaper group.

The Suffolk Times earned the sixth most editorial contest points of the 171 newspapers from all throughout New York who submitted 2,634 entries in 60 categories. The Times took home third place in the prestigious Past Presidents’ Award for General Excellence, the one honor that looks at every facet of a newspaper, evaluating the writing, photography, design and advertising.

“Best photography in the category,” wrote one judge from Arizona, where this year’s contest entries were evaluated. “Beautiful, beefy paper. Clean layout. Great work here.”

The Suffolk Times cleaned up in the photo categories, including a second place win for Photographic Excellence. Contributing photographer Katharine Schroeder and editor Tim Kelly won three photo awards each. Tim also won first place in the News Story category and second place for Best Column.

The Suffolk Times claimed first place for Sports Coverage, and sports editor Bob Liepa took home a second place award in the Sports Feature category.

The paper also won third place for Advertising Excellence and claimed a total of six awards in the advertising competition.

“The Suffolk Times plays a vital role in the lives of our readers,” said publisher Andrew Olsen. “Our staff has always tried to bring the community to life in the paper, online and in our special sections.”

The competition was dominated by Long Island papers, with the Long Island Press earning the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence, the weekend’s top editorial prize. Herald Community Newspapers of Nassau County earned the second most contest points of any chain followed by The Press Newspaper Group of Southampton in third. Sag Harbor Express earned the second most editorial contest points of any single newspaper.

“It’s great to see all the Long Island weeklies perform so well,” Mr. Olsen said. “We’re honored to be considered among the best.”