The Suffolk Times named New York’s Newspaper of the Year
The Suffolk Times received top honors when the results of the New York Press Association’s 2014 Better Newspaper Contest were announced Saturday night.
The paper was awarded Newspaper of the Year for earning more contest points than any of the more than 175 publications entered in this year’s contest.
“The judges raved about the storytelling, solid sources, quotes with punch, reader engagement and in-depth research,” NYPA executive director Michelle Rea said in announcing the winner. “Quality journalism, great photography and beautiful design make the difference.”
The newspaper also claimed the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence — named for the former Suffolk Times owner and publisher — awarded to the publication that earns 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.
The Suffolk Times claimed a total of 31 awards, including first place honors for Coverage of Crime/Police/Courts, Coverage of Agriculture, Feature Story (Rachel Young), Spot News Coverage (Jen Nuzzo), Spot News Photo (Katherine Schroeder), Sports Feature Photo (Garret Meade), Editorial Cartoon (Peter Waldner) and Best House Ad (Kendra Beavis).
Suffolk Times reporter Paul Squire was a runner-up for Writer of the Year — an award won by fellow Times Review staffer Julie Lane of the Shelter Island Reporter — and longtime sports editor Bob Liepa was a runner-up for Sports Writer of the Year.
“It’s great to see so many members of our staff win such a wide range of awards,” said Times Review executive editor Grant Parpan. “We have an incredibly hard-working crew and I’m happy they’ve been rewarded for their talent and efforts.”
Times Review Media Group — which also includes the Riverhead News-Review, the Shelter Island Reporter and northforker.com — took home more awards than any other publisher for the second consecutive year. The News-Review, which won the Stuart C. Dorman Award last year, placed second in the editorial contest and won the Past Presidents’ Award for General Excellence, the only honor to measure all the elements of a newspaper.
This is only the second year NYPA has presented Newspaper of the Year. The Sag Harbor Express claimed the award last year.
It was again a strong showing for East End media with The Sag Harbor Express earning the most total contest points of any single-flag newspaper and The Press News Group of Southampton earning the second most total contest points. The staff of Riverheadlocal.com also took home several awards, including second place Writer of the Year honors for editor and co-publisher Denise Civiletti, a former co-publisher and executive editor at Times Review.
Members of the Iowa Press Association judged the contest, which included more than 3,000 entries in 64 categories. The awards were presented at the NYPA Convention Friday and Saturday in Saratoga Springs.
