Downtown Express’s editorial pages were judged to be the best in the state at the New York Press Association’s annual convention last weekend in Saratoga Springs. The paper also received awards for its coverage of school overcrowding issues, and of the Downtown reaction to the inauguration of President Obama.
The 2009 editorial pages award was for the paper’s editorials, columns and letters to the editor, and the contest judges from the Maryland and Delaware press associations had praise for the “strong opinions” in all three as well as the “clever headlines.” One judge “loved” columnist Ben Krull’s writing in particular.
Downtown Express reporter Julie Shapiro won a third place award in the news or feature series category for her articles chronicling the 2009 school waiting list problems and the need for more school space in future years.
“Solid ongoing coverage,” one judge wrote. “Obviously an important issue for many local parents and residents. Good job of avoiding education jargon. Nice job of continuing coverage without becoming repetitious.”
The Express’s sweeping coverage of Lower Manhattan’s enthusiastic reaction to the Obama inauguration earned a third place award in the spot news category. The article was co-written by Albert Amateau, Candida L. Figueroa, a former intern, Josh Rogers, the paper’s associate editor, and Lincoln Anderson. Paul Schindler and Patrick Hedlund also contributed reporting.
“A very readable and complete account of how varied cultural groups reacted to the inauguration,” one judge wrote.
Community Media L.L.C., which owns The Villager, Chelsea Now and Gay City News in addition to the Express, finished fifth in the state in total contest points.
Three other Community Media award-winning entries were also published in Downtown Express. Anderson’s article on a handicapped woman who was killed by a city truck while she was riding her motorized scooter in a bike lane won a second place award for The Villager in the spot news category. Photographs by Milo Hess and J.B. Nicholas of the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane, which floated from Midtown to Lower Manhattan last January, earned first and third place awards respectively for Chelsea Now in the spot news photography category.
One hundred and seventy-six papers across the state submitted entries to the NYPA Better Newspaper Contest.
