BY SUE KOOPY McVEE | On the strength of standout reporting, writing, photography and design, The Villager won 10 awards — including three first-place awards — in the New York Press Association’s 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.
The Villager finished fifth in New York State out of 177 newspapers — mostly community weeklies — that entered the contest.
The winners were announced this past weekend at NYPA’s annual spring convention in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Lincoln Anderson, The Villager’s editor in chief, won first place for News Story, second place for both In-Depth Reporting and Best News or Feature Series and third place for Writer of the Year.
Anderson’s first-place-winning News Story, “The dark side of Purple,” revealed the hidden criminal past of Adam Purple — the godfather of urban gardening — and how he shockingly regularly sexually abused his prepubescent daughters and stepdaughters when the family lived in Australia in the 1960s when Purple, real name David Lloyd Wilkie, was in his 30s.
As first reported in The Villager article, Wilkie served up to two years in jail for sexually attacking his oldest stepdaughter, after which he was deported to America. Wilkie soon re-emerged on the Lower East Side, where he recreated himself as Adam Purple, dressed head to toe in purple tie-dye, and cultivated the Garden of Eden, becoming a beloved quirky icon of environmental sustainability.
The contest judges were members of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.
“Wow!” the judge for this category wrote of “The dark side of Purple.” “Such a heartbreaking story about the level of abuse. Like pulling off a Band-Aid, it had to be done and this story was done as well as it could have been…comprehensive.”
Anderson’s “The dark side of Purple” also scored second place for In-Depth Reporting.
“Excellent reporting,” the judge for this category wrote, “but even more kudos go to the victims for their bravery sharing their stories about this individual.”
In addition, Anderson won second place for Best News or Feature Series for four articles about the crusty pit bull attacks that terrorized the East Village last summer. The series started with punk photographer Roberta Bayley’s pug, Sidney, dying after being savagely attacked on St. Mark’s Place by Jax, an ultra-aggressive pit bull, while his crusty-traveler owner lay zonked out on a sofa on the sidewalk. During the ensuing rampage, two East Village men defending their dogs from attack were chomped on the arm by wild pit bulls — one of them suffering permanent nerve damage. The series ended with the drug overdose death of Jax’s troubled owner, Natas (“Satan” spelled backward), in Tompkins Square Park.
After reading about all the mayhem, the judge said simply, “A horrible story told admirably. Good job.”
In addition, Anderson won third place for Writer of the Year. His entry included the Adam Purple article, one of the “Crusty pit bulls gone wild” articles, plus articles on Sheldon Silver’s arrest on corruption charges, Soho residents’ memories of the Etan Patz missing-child case and District Leader Arthur Schwartz’s arrest for removing a landlord’s surveillance cameras that he charged were harassing an elderly Christopher St. woman.
“Lincoln writes some fascinating stories with a lot of depth,” the judge wrote. “He could have finished higher, but a couple of the stories — ‘Spy Cam’ and ‘Pit Bull’ — were overwritten. But the thoroughness of the reporting and organization of the writing were exemplary.”
The Villager won third place for Best Obituaries. The entry included Anderson’s breaking-news obituary on Purple — who died at 84 while biking across the Williamsburg Bridge — Judith Mahoney Pasternak’s obit on Living Theatre legend Judith Malina and Albert Amateau’s piece on Joyce DeChristino, a devout Village native who was at least 100 years old.
A two-page spread of Q. Sakamaki’s photographs of Palestinians subsisting amid the ruins of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict won the former East Village lensman first place for Picture Story.
“Using a former local to bring outstanding pictorial photos from far away is a gift to the readers,” the judge wrote.
In a very prestigious award, The Villager won first place for Best Editorial Page. This category includes the editorial, columns, letters, cartoon and any photos on the editorial pages from three separate issues during the contest year.
“Attractive, clean layout breaks from the norm,” this entry’s judge said. “Use of photography to enhance the pieces is well done. Refreshingly balanced editorials on a broad range of topics bring a very personalized touch to compelling arguments. In-depth, well-written columns further the human interest. Headlines invite the reader in with a strong appeal to the ‘Why should I care?’ question. Localized cartoon. A nice variety of reader letters shows good engagement with your community.”
This entry included editorials by Anderson on the proposed “Gansevoort Row” upzoning, “the good, the bad and the ugly” of Sheldon Silver’s mixed legacy, and this past summer’s homelessness crisis; columns by Harry Pincus (featuring his illustration of his father), Carol Greitzer, Ken Paskar and Steven Wishnia; and cartoons by Ira Blutreich and Evan Forsch — plus photos of the Naked Cowboy by Tequila Minsky.
The Village’s hometown paper tied for second place for Coverage of the Arts.
“I love the variety of topics, including haunted houses, Guerilla Girls and Penny Arcade. These are lively pages with bright writing that I’m sure your readers look forward to each issue,” the judge wrote of this entry, with articles by the paper’s arts editor, Scott Stiffler, and Trav S.P., Puma Perl, Stephanie Buhmann and Dusica Sue Malesevic.
In another impressive win, The Villager took third place for Overall Design Excellence. Two complete issues of the paper were submitted, including July 2, featuring a two-page photo spread of the Pride March.
“The Villager has a very nice cover design template!” this judge enthused. “Well-branded flag. Above-the-fold photo [on Page One] says something local and personal. … The photo gallery of the Pride March is stunning!!! Its layout could not be more pleasing in the quality of the photos (and printing), variation of sizes, balance of color and the variety of images — the gallery is in a league of its own!!!”
The Villager’s graphic designer, Chris Ortiz, laid out both issues, including the Pride March spread, which featured photos by Milo Hess and Sakamaki.
Ortiz also snagged third place for Best House Ad / Ad Campaign for his Ricky Martin tickets contest ad.
The winner of this year’s Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence was The Sag Harbor Express. Finishing in second place was The Suffolk Times. No. 3 was The Riverhead News-Review and No. 4 was The Altamont Enterprise and Albany County Post, with The Villager rounding out the top 5.
