Mary E. ‘Betty’ Letoile

June 16, 2016

Mary E. “Betty” Letoile, 91, of Providence, R.I., died June 1 at The Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, D.C., a Roman Catholic religious institute for women.

Her first job after business school was as a bookkeeper at The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass.

Letoile leaves a son, The Very Rev. Kenneth; four daughters, Susan, Nancy, Corinne and Marilyn; seven grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren.

The obituaries were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondent Nimra Aziz, an undergraduate student in the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

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Steve Szkotak

June 16, 2016

Steve Szkotak, 65, of Richmond, Va., died May 31 in his home.

He was an editor for 13 years at the Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton, Mass. Previously, he was a reporter for a decade with the United Press International in New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

In 2002, Szkotak became a journalist with The Associated Press.

Szkotak leaves his wife, Mandy; a daughter, Molly; a son, Frederick; a brother; two sisters.

The obituaries were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondent Nimra Aziz, an undergraduate student in the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

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Michael Whitmer

June 16, 2016

Michael Whitmer will become director of external communications at Travelers insurance company in Hartford, Conn., after covering his last sports event for The Boston Globe, the U.S. Open golf tournament June 16 to June 19.

As a sportswriter at the Globe, Whitmer has covered golf, the New England Patriots, and other sports assignments. Before becoming a sportswriter, he was a copy and layout editor at the Globe, and a sportswriter at The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer.

The Transitions were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondent Nimra Aziz, an undergraduate student in the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

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Bruno Giordano

June 16, 2016

Bruno Giordano, 86, of Stamford, Conn., died May 27 in Voorhees, N.J.

He was the founder, publisher, and co-editor of the Stamford (Conn.) Forum, a free weekly newspaper, from 1970 to 1973.

He was elected mayor of Stamford in 1967 for one two-year term.

He leaves two daughters, Esther-Marie and Vera-Lynn; two sons, Vincent and Angelo; six grandchildren; three brothers.

The obituaries were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondent Nimra Aziz, an undergraduate student in the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

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Slimp’s three most FAQs

June 2, 2016

Kevin Slimp, technology

Kevin Slimp is director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology.

Email questions to him at
kevin@kevinslimp.com

Kevin-Slimp-dot-gain — In Cambridge, Minn., the staff wanted to learn how to get the best results on the printed page. That led to inviting them to visit the printing plant to get a lesson in how a press works and why dot gain, color settings and resolution are so important.

If a man hangs around long enough, he’s bound to get noticed. That’s my theory anyway.

When asked why I receive so many requests for help from newspapers, I simply mark it down to longevity. I’ve been around the business long enough for most publishers, and others, to know me.

I recently received requests to visit five newspapers in four states. For some, the most pressing need is
training. A few seek advice concerning the overall structure of their operations. Still others are hoping I can find the solution to problems that have plagued their newspapers for too long.

Ten or 15 years ago, I would worry a bit before boarding a plane to make a consulting visit. Concerned there might be bigger problems than I could solve, it was always a relief to get on the flight back home.

Those days are past. I don’t stress or worry about upcoming trips. One reason is there’s simply no time for worry while visiting two or three papers each week. A more likely explanation is there’s not much I haven’t seen after 20 years of consulting, so issues that might be huge in the eyes of a client often have simple solutions when seen through the eyes of experience.

Here are some of the most common questions I’m asked while on site at newspapers:

Question 1: Is there a better way to produce my newspaper?

The topic of production comes up a lot during my visits. That particular question is one of the most difficult,
because there’s almost always someone who doesn’t like my answer.

Ponder this: How often do you visit a business and think, “There’s got to be a better way.”

That’s what makes that a difficult question. It’s not that I don’t know the answer. Usually, within just a few minutes I’ve noticed several potential improvements to the workflow. It’s natural for people to resist change. So I tread that question gently, hoping to gain the trust of most everyone on staff before sharing my thoughts.

For instance, most people enjoy designing pages. The truth, however, is it’s important to have good designers working on pages and good writers writing stories. Sure, photographers sometimes like having total control of their photos, but there’s often someone on staff who is particularly skilled at color editing, leaving the photographer more time for what they do best — shooting photos.

As an adviser, I use experience to guide me in knowing when to advise changes, and when to realize, for the time being, things might work better as they are.

Question 2: Why are we having so many problems with ads clogging up the system or printing incorrectly?

I don’t like bringing up issues with PDF files. Sometimes it seems like I’ve spent my life dealing with them. But the truth is I haven’t visited a paper in a long time that didn’t have issues with PDF files.

Most people don’t realize their trouble is coming from PDF files. A pressman might ask, “Why do files coming from advertising cause errors when going through the RIP (raster image processor)?”

A publisher might ask, “Why are we losing so much money because ads aren’t printing right in our paper?”

A page designer might ask, “Why are quotation marks turning to strange symbols?” or “Why are boxes
appearing on the page where letters should be?”

As much as the good folks at Adobe want you to believe otherwise, the answer is almost always found in the method used to create the PDF files.

One of the most common messages I receive after visiting a client is, “We’ve already covered your cost in
savings from ads printing correctly.”

It’s not rocket science. Ensuring that those PDF files are error-free before sending them to the RIP will make everyone sleep better.

Question 3: Will we increase profits and produce better papers by centralizing production?

I’ve found that, when approached with the idea of moving the production of multiple newspapers to a central office, it’s wise to do more listening than talking.

Most clients are already hoping I will say, “Yes, that’s a good idea,” before I arrive.

I figure, however, they’re paying me good money and want objective answers, rather than having me placate their egos – improving my chances of being invited back.

Sometimes the answer is “yes.” If they own three papers in one county with a total circulation of 1,600, it
probably doesn’t take three full-time design staffs to lay out the pages.

Often the answer is “not so fast,” however.

Research indicates that the best way to produce long-term growth often is improving the quality of the
products. Moving to a central production center often has more to do with reaching short-term cost reduction goals than achieving long-term growth.

As often as not, when faced with that question, I will have serious discussion with a publisher, chief executive officer or other manager, resulting in a decision to use current resources to improve the quality and profits of their newspapers, rather than cutting to grow, which rarely works in the long run.

I could write a column titled, “The 100 most often asked questions during on-site visits,” but the editor of this publication might not be pleased with such a topic. So, for now, let’s stick with those three.

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Journalists who cover trauma sometimes suffer from it too

June 2, 2016

JOHN-TLUMACKI-BOSTON-MARATHON — John Tlumacki photo, courtesy of The Boston Globe

By Siyi Zhao, Bulletin Staff

John Tlumacki’s photo of the aftermath of the bomb that exploded near the Boston Marathon finish line became an iconic scene from the terrorist tragedy.

John Tlumacki kept seeing the photographs he took in the grisly aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings playing like a slideshow in his head over and over, images of people crying for help and helping each other deal with their injuries. Those nightmares began almost a month after the bombings.

“The camera became my enemy,” said Tlumacki, a longtime Boston Globe photojournalist. “I didn’t even want to pick it up anymore … ”

Tlumacki said he became angry as he was taking photographs of all the carnage, figuring that it was the result of an act of terrorism.

As much as Tlumacki tried to deny it, he said he knew he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Three people died and nearly 270 were injured in the April 2013 bombings near the Boston Marathon’s finish line on Boylston Street.

The Marathon bombings were among the latest instances in which reporters covered scenes of multiple deaths and destruction. New England has experienced others in the not-too-distant past.

In December 2012, 20 children and six adult staff members were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. And in February 2003, 100 people were killed and 230 people were injured during The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I.

Part of being a journalist is covering traumatic events like those. According to experts interviewed by the Bulletin, reporters should treat such events not only as professionals, but also as human beings.

George Everly Jr., an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, said the more preparation journalists can have in dealing with stressful or traumatic events, the more they will understand what they could confront on the job.

“Before someone goes into this career, that’s when you prepare,” Everly said. “That should be an obligation that schools of journalism should have. We have to do a better job setting appropriate expectations, because this kind of work is not for everyone. Some people are just not suited for it. And they should know that upfront.”

According to “Covering Trauma: Impact on Journalists,” an overview of current research on the danger for journalists focusing on traumatic events, most journalists exhibit resilience in the face of traumatic events. But a significant minority might be at risk of having long-term psychological problems.

For some journalists, the more they are exposed to such events during their career, the more resilient they become, experts interviewed said. Still, there are other journalists who become more traumatized the more they are exposed to trauma.

“For many reasons, some people prove to be more resilient in the face of trauma than others,” said Jim MacMillan, program manager at the Center for Public Interest Journalism at Temple University.

Cait McMahon, an Australian psychologist and managing director at the Dart Center Asia Pacific, said in an email that the different reactions to trauma can be traced to many factors. Those factors include the journalist’s trauma history and mental health history, and the severity of the traumatic exposure and isolation the journalist experienced.

The Dart Center, which focuses on informed, innovative and ethical reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy, has tip sheets available for reporters on how to cope with different traumas, such as losing a colleague or managing the stress of a long investigation.

McMahon said social support is one of the factors that can help build resilience. Journalists who can count on a colleague, friend or family member for support after covering a traumatic event seem to cope much better than those who are isolated and don’t have such support.

Matthew Kauffman covered suicides among soldiers during war and the Sandy Hook school shootings for The Hartford (Conn.) Courant. He spoke to relatives of soldiers who killed themselves in Iraq and Afghanistan and was in the newsroom collecting information about the Newtown shootings.

Kauffman found that talking to people after a traumatic event helped him process the difficult information on which he was reporting.

“It’s not about forgetting. It’s about making it easier to remember,” Kauffman said. “It’s about making it less emotional or painful to remember. Each time, I felt less uncomfortable to talk about it.”

Some journalists think that the responsibility for them to cover events and accurately report on them to readers helps safeguard them from being affected psychologically.

“I don’t feel like I am psychologically affected by … traumatic events,” said Mark Arsenault, a Boston Globe reporter who covered the Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island.

He witnessed the rescue and recovery operation at the scene.

“Sometimes it’s sad, but I don’t feel like it’s a lasting thing. Because I am the representative of the readers, and the readers need people who are the best, people who can do things without becoming personally affected. And becoming personally affected compromises your ability to do a fair and accurate job of telling,” Arsenault said.

Sometimes, however, even journalists who at the time of a traumatic incident focus first on their professional obligation to report on the incident might suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, as happened to Tlumacki.

“I think I totally took it all in. I became a part of it,” Tlumacki said of his feelings while photographing the Boston Marathon bombing scene.

He was standing on the finish line, about 40 feet from the first bomb and photographed Krystle Campbell, one of the three people killed in the bombing, through the smoke.

“My emotion ranged from being very angry to being persistent and doing my job, worrying about whether I was going to be kicked out before I had any photos. When you have that thought in your head, you resign (yourself) to the fact that maybe something is going to happen to you. I just want to keep doing my job. I realize it was my responsibility to show the world what happened. The consequence is to deal with trauma and live with it,” Tlumacki said.

Other than professional help from psychologists, journalists might choose some self-help strategies to cope with problems caused by traumatic events, Everly, the John Hopkins psychiatry professor, said.

To cope with his stress, Tlumacki went to Sedona, Ariz., with his wife seven months after the bombings.

He said of the trip: “It was visually exciting, and it’s beautiful. I needed to get away from work and to see something beautiful and be in nature.”

Tlumacki said the beauty in Sedona prompted him to capture that beauty with his camera.

“I had to take some beautiful photos,” Tlumacki said. The camera “became my friend again.”

Jim-MacMillan-Center-for-Public-Interest-Journalism

‘I think I totally took it all in. I became a part of it.’

–John Tlumacki

‘My emotion ranged from being very angry to being persistent and doing my job, worrying about whether I was going to be kicked out before I had any photos. When you have that through in your head, you resign (yourself) to the fact that maybe something is going to happen to you. I just want to keep doing my job. I realize it was my responsibility to show the world what happened. The consequence is to deal with trauma and live with it.’

–John Tlumacki, Photojournalist
Boston Globe

‘It’s not about forgetting. It’s about making it easier to remember. It’s about making it less emotional or painful to remember. Each time, I felt less uncomfortable to talk about it.’

–Matthew Kauffman, Reporter
Hartford (Conn.) Courant

Cait McMahon, Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma

‘For many reasons, some people prove to be more resilient in the face of trauma than others.’

–Jim MacMillan, Program manager
Center for Public Interest Journalism, Temple University

‘Sometimes it’s sad, but I don’t feel like it’s a lasting thing. Because I am the representative of the readers, and the readers need people who are the best, people who can do things without becoming personally affected. And becoming personally affected compromises your ability to do a fair and accurate job of telling.’

–Mark Arsenault, Reporter
Boston Globe

George Everly, Jr., John Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore

‘Before someone goes into this career, that’s when you prepare. That should be an obligation that schools of journalism should have. We have to do a better job setting appropriate expectations, because this kind of work is not for everyone. Some people are just not suited for it. And they should know that upfront.’

–George Everly Jr., Associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences
John Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore MD

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Setting realistic goals

June 2, 2016

John Foust, advertising

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training.

Email for information: john@johnfoust.com

Derek placed more ads in the paper than anyone else on the sales team. Low-volume clients suddenly increased their spending. And large clients began running even bigger ads. Revenue was rolling in.

Then it all fell apart. First one advertiser, then another, complained about invoicing.

Quickly it became evident that Derek had been placing ads in the paper without permission. His scheme worked for a while, because some of his clients didn’t check records carefully. At first, the paper rationalized that refunds were a cost of having a high-energy salesperson with a poor eye for details. Then the paper realized that the problem was deeper than that, and eventually had to let him go. Justice prevailed, but that wasn’t the end of the story.

The accounting department worked overtime to clean up the mess. And the ad department hired a replacement. But in an inexplicable act of greed and stupidity, the ad manager gave the new person a goal that was 10 percent higher than the pre-refund amount generated by Derek. In other words, the new person would have to produce more revenue than a crook.

Although that is an extreme example, it illustrates that some managers need a better understanding of what it takes to set realistic goals. If you are involved in the goal-setting process, here are some points to keep in mind:

1. Fairness is in the eye of the beholder. If a salesperson thinks that a goal is unfair, it is either (1) truly unfair or (2) you need to do a better job of explaining how you arrived at the goal.

2. Goals impact morale. When a person makes progress toward a goal, morale soars and she can be self-motivated to work even harder. On the other hand, when a person finds himself falling short week after week, he can get discouraged and say, “What’s the use?”

3. Morale is contagious. Although salespeople spend a big part of each day working independently, they are part of a team. When there are problems, they are often more likely to talk to each other than to the boss.

4. Consider multiple factors when setting goals. Across-the-board increases are common, but inherently out of touch with reality. Let’s use the 10 percent figure at Derek’s paper to illustrate. If you’re looking for an overall 10 percent increase, see that figure as an average. Some accounts could project a five percent increase and others could project 15. It’s like the old management saying, “If you’re treating everyone the same way, you’re treating most of them the wrong way.”

5. Use the S.M.A.R.T. formula. This technique has been around for a long time – and it has helped a lot of ad managers set meaningful goals. It represents goals that are (1) Specific, (2) Measurable, (3) Achievable, (4) Relevant, and (5) Time-sensitive. Wise managers get each salesperson’s input in each area for each account.

Derek’s replacement lasted less than a year. With realistic goals, the story could have had a different ending.

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Consistency is key

June 2, 2016

Ed Henninger, design

ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the director of Henninger Consulting.

Website: www.henningerconsulting.com
Phone: (803) 327-3322

WANT A FREE evaluation of your newspaper’s design?
Just contact Ed: edh@henningerconsulting.com | (803) 327-3322

IF THIS COLUMN has been helpful, you might be interested in Ed’s books: “Henninger on Design” and “101 Henninger Helpful Hints.” With the help of Ed’s books, you’ll immediately have a better idea how to design for your readers. Find out more about “Henninger on Design” and “101 Henninger Helpful Hints” by visiting Ed’s website: www.henningerconsulting.com

henninger-design-consistency — Design elements are consistent with each other…and use the same fonts as the headline typeface

Through the years, I’ve heard quite a few arguments against design consistency, with some dragging out a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds … ”

Wrong.

Emerson never said that. What he said was “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds … ”

When it comes to newspaper design, consistency is more than just important. It’s critical.

Consistent design tells your readers and advertisers that yours is a newspaper that is planned and put together with purpose.

Some people might argue that they need to be creative with the design, that creativity is more important to them than consistency. That might be so, but it is not the mission of a newspaper to satisfy the creative urges of any of its staff.

Rather, it is part of the mission of a newspaper to deliver the news and doings of its community in a manner that is clear, concise and comfortable to read.

That’s where consistency comes in. Here’s how:

COMFORT. Readers find it easier to get through a newspaper that wears the same look from page to page, section to section.

CARE. Consistency reinforces the feeling that yours is a newspaper that cares about the details. When it comes to design, you sweat the small stuff.

CREDIBILITY. If you’re careful with your design, it stands to reason that you’re also careful with your reporting and your editing, your ads and all the other things you do.

CLASS. Consistency brings a higher level of sophistication to your newspaper, giving your readers and advertisers a sense that you offer them a high-quality product. “Sophistication” does not mean “snooty.” It means a level of skill and care that’s above the norm. Nothing wrong with that!

EFFICIENCY. Consistent design elements are part of a design system. Those who assemble pages at your newspaper don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to creating a new standing head or column sig. They just follow the style that’s already in use. There’s no leap of faith involved.

If you want your design to appeal to more readers—and to more advertisers—make it cleaner and more comfortable. One of the fastest, easiest ways to do that? Make it more consistent.

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Getting religion: Why more newspapers should heed this important, overlooked topic

May 19, 2016

Christian-Science-Center — Bulletin photo by Emily Turner

By Emily Turner, Bulletin Staff

Christian Science Center in Boston

Abe McLaughlin, Christian Science Monitor

‘If you’re not factoring the religious beliefs into your coverage, you’ve left out an important dimension of how people are motivated.’

–Abe McLaughlin, Director, Content Strategy Group
Christian Science Monitor

Modern etiquette suggests avoiding the topics of politics, money or religion in conversation. In the news, however, people’s political beliefs and companies’ finances are dutifully discussed by reporters. But what about someone’s religion, which might influence the core of his or her beliefs and actions?

Faith plays a significant role in people’s lives. More than eight in 10 people worldwide identify with a religious group, according to the Pew Research Center.

While nearly the entire global population identifies with a religion, relatively few reporters focus on religion as their beat. Although news organizations don’t ignore coverage of religion, it is not typically a topic with its own section in newspapers or online.

“If there even is a religion section, it’s often fluff. It’s inspirational. It’s not hard news,” said Joshua Eaton, a Boston-based independent journalist who covers religion and society, human rights and national security for news organizations, including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Christian Science Monitor.

He said religion coverage often comes by way of opinion pieces.

One such opinion columnist is Suzette Standring. Her columns on spirituality appear in GateHouse Media-owned newspapers, and she has been contributing to The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., since 2003, writing features and news stories about religion.

“As a religion columnist, my aim is to have the reader view faith — no matter what religion — as a positive force in life. And let’s face it, many might assume religion is divisive or exclusive,” Standring said. “For example, I don’t bother with things like creationism versus evolution since I consider the subject to be trite and dreary.”

Standring said the reason it’s hard to find good stories and in-depth reporting on religion is that the aim is often for too narrow a demographic. When a story preaches toward one religion, it becomes exclusive for a specific audience, she said.

“It’s hard for people to get into that,” she said.

Melanie Frageorgia, a part-time correspondent for The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, Mass., thinks that her religion beat is uncommon.

“It seems relatively unique to the Chronicle that they have an emphasis on religion. With most newspapers, there’s not even that much,” she said.

Despite religion having a significant role in many people’s lives, news that covers religion is more often about the shock value, Frageorgia said.

Her stories for the Sun Chronicle include profiles of religious leaders in 11 communities, in which she aims to tell an individual’s story, one that doesn’t necessarily anchor around a religion.

As with the Sun Chronicle, the Christian Science Monitor, based in Boston, does not have a full-time religion reporter. Abe McLaughlin, director of the Monitor’s content strategy group, said the global news organization does, however, include a daily Christian Science perspective piece.

“It’s our one thing that’s related to Christian Science every day,” McLaughlin said.

Despite the organization being owned by the Christian Science religion’s publishing society, it does not proselytize or deeply cover the religion, McLaughlin said.

The Monitor does not commit to covering religion on a daily basis, but McLaughlin said religion reporting is an important element in the Monitor’s news coverage.

“It’s something we see as a major current of global thought,” he said.

As a nonsecular niche publication, The Jewish Advocate of Boston covers one religion as the basis of all of its reporting.

Alexandra Lapkin, community editor for the Jewish Advocate, finds that reporting for a Jewish community allows her to cover a wide variety of topics because they’re connected not just by their faith.

“They’re a people,” she said. “Like me, for instance. I grew up in Ukraine. My family never celebrated Jewish holidays, and there were no synagogues in the town. So I didn’t have experience in Judaism. But I do have a lot of identity from being Jewish.”

Lapkin does not assume that the audience she writes for are experts in Judaism either.

“I don’t have the expertise to go into some religious topics. But I’ll always explain what something means,” she said.

For example, she recalled a story she wrote about high school students who refurbished a Geniza – a storage space where old Hebrew-language books are kept.

“These books can’t just be thrown out,” she said. “It must be a ceremonial burial.”

She had not previously heard of a Geniza, but described the significance and process for discarding the old books in her story.

A lack of religious expertise might, in fact, be what is missing from reporting beyond the fluff or shock-value of religious news today.

McLaughlin of the Christian Science Monitor said a good example of a religion story was “What ISIS Really Wants,” in The Atlantic.

“They did a nice piece about what ISIS believes. That was smart. ISIS more often gets coverage about its social media, as a political player in the Middle East, or for its role in war and terrorism,” McLaughlin said.

The Sun Chronicle’s Frageorgia thinks that the opportunity to report on religious beliefs is huge, especially for readers, to get interested in more than just the news of violence for groups such as ISIS.

“Understanding what makes them tick is something that can be done for any religion to help people understand what’s going on,” Frageorgia said.

The coverage of Islamic terrorism in general has not been good, independent journalist Eaton said.

“There hasn’t been a nuanced understanding of what religion is, the history, or how the religious culture and identity fit together,” he said.

Where Eaton thinks that there is a lack of nuanced understanding, GateHouse Media’s Standring thinks that the lack of strong religion reporting is a result of newspapers being afraid of driving away readers.

“Newspapers are scared to alienate any readers, and they’re afraid. But they’re missing the boat on a huge demographic,” she said. “I noticed that when a newspaper writes about religion in an eye-opening way, I feel there are tons of people out there that respond to it.”

McLaughlin thinks that, to tell a better, more balanced story, people’s religious beliefs should just become part of good reporting.

“If you’re not factoring the religious beliefs into your coverage, you’ve left out an important dimension of how people are motivated,” he said.

Joshua Easton, Boston-based independent journalist

‘If there even is a religion section, it’s often fluff. It’s inspirational. It’s not hard news.’

–Joshua Eaton,
Boston-based independent journalist

‘It seems relatively unique to the Chronicle that they have an emphasis on religion. With most newspapers, there’s not even that much.’

–Melanie Frageorgia, Part-time correspondent
The Sun Chronicle, Attleboro, Mass.

‘Newspapers are scared to alienate any readers, and they’re afraid. But they’re missing the boat on a huge demographic. I noticed that when a newspaper writes about religion in an eye-opening way, I feel that there are tons of people out there that respond to it.’

–Suzette Standring,
Spirituality Columnist
GateHouse Media newspapers

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NESNE award recipients: From students to a retiree

May 8, 2016

Josh-Kovner-Hartford-Courant — Josh Kovner, Hartford Courant

By Abby Skelton, Bulletin Staff

Steve-Heaslip-Photographer-Cape-Cod-Times

Steve Heaslip, chief photographer of the cape cod times of hyannis, mass., delivers his acceptance remarks after receiving the master photographer award.

The New England Society of News Editors (NESNE) annual awards ceremony this year featured the familiar in recognizing recipients of its usual honors. The ceremony also featured a first: news awards name-modeled after the Oscars — the NESNEs.

Those recognized at the ceremony Thursday, April 21, ranged from high school and college students and a college journalism educator to a young journalist on the rise to accomplished journalists at the top of their field.

Fittingly, the winner of one of the ceremony’s most prestigious awards, a retired veteran journalist, chose to give advice to young journalists as part of her acceptance speech.

Karen Bordeleau, retired executive editor and senior vice president of The Providence (R.I.) Journal, received the Judith Vance Weld Brown Award.

Bordeleau is the 16th winner of the annual award, given to a woman in journalism who exhibits the pioneering spirit of the award’s namesake, who was NESNE’s first female president and a longtime executive and editor at The Herald of New Britain, Conn.

Bordeleau was the first female executive editor of the Providence Journal since its founding in 1829. Bordeleau was awarded the Yankee Quill Award in 2014, and in 2013 was named one of the “Top 10 Women to Watch in the U.S. Media” by Editor & Publisher.

She was described in her introduction as having a “fierce determination to protect the public’s right to know.”

At the beginning of her acceptance remarks, Bordeleau said that “our journalism is the only thing that keeps the government in check.”

She then offered five pieces of advice to young journalists:

1. “What you do matters.”

2. “Surround yourself with journalists that are better than you … If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.”

3. “Think way, way, way outside the box … Do not be afraid when your editor says, ‘Do different’.”

4. “We have to figure out how to tell average citizens that journalism matters … because there is a difference between media and journalism.”

5. “You can do it all, and do it all well … You just can’t do it all perfectly – that’s why we have copy editors.”

NESNE’s Master Photographer and Master Reporter awards are given in recognition of a lifetime of achievements, excellence, and service to New England reporting.

Steve Heaslip, chief photographer at the Cape Cod Times of Hyannis, Mass., won Master Photographer honors,

Linda Corcoran, managing editor of the Times, nominated Heaslip for the award.

Corcoran said Heaslip “blends the science and art of photography to make what we call photojournalism,” which drew a laugh from the audience of about 80 people.

Heaslip told an anecdote about photographing and bonding with children in a park. Heaslip said he was lucky to have a job where he gets paid to talk to kids about penny candy.

Josh Kovner, a reporter at The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, received the Master Reporter Award.

John Ferraro, editor of the Courant, nominated Kovner and said in introducing him that “his reporting changes people’s lives.”

Kovner recently wrote an enterprise piece on the lives of developmentally disabled people in Connecticut, and his work covering the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Kovner said: “We do our best work when we have to keep topping it … That’s why I love this job.”

William Kole, New England news editor of The Associated Press, nominated Collin Binkley for the Rising Newsroom Star award. Binkley is a journalist at the Associated Press bureau in Boston. Kole said Binkley “epitomizes accountability journalism.”

“Colin is a pit bull, and his bite is worse than his bark,” Kole said.

The Rising Newsroom Star award is given to a journalist who shows great potential and has demonstrated outstanding reporting and writing skills early in his or her career.

Binkley told an anecdote about one of his first journalism internships: “An editor once asked me why I want to be a reporter, and it wasn’t a rhetorical question. That was seven years ago, and I had no idea how to answer the question … but now I answer that question every day.

“There are always stories that no one else is telling that hold leaders accountable … They are vital to their readers … It is a reminder that our work is just as important as ever,” Binkley said.

Eleven journalists were the inaugural winners of the NESNEs in its 10 categories.

The NESNEs were awarded to the winners among the five nominees in each of the 10 categories, ranging from best news photo to best watchdog or neighborhood reporting story. The nominees were chosen from first-place finishers among broad award categories in the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s Better Newspaper Competition, announced at NENPA’s winter convention in February.

The winners of the NESNEs are:

• Best News Photo: Steven King, photographer at Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, for Chasing Ebola.

• Best Sports/Feature Photo: King, for Grave Diggers

• Best Video: Eva Sollberger, senior media producer at Seven Days of Burlington, Vt., for Stuck in Vermont: Danforth Pewter Turns 40

• Best Digital Innovation: John Reddy, copy desk chief and news editor, and Carlos Virgen, digital news director, both at The Day of New London, Conn., for The Cost of Freedom

• Best Sports Coverage: Taylor Vortherms, arts editor at The Ellsworth (Maine) American, for Ellsworth’s Robin Emery: Women’s Running Pioneer

• Best Opinion or Commentary Writing: Amy MacKinnon, editorial page editor at The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., for Evelin Valibayova Has a Right to be Found

• Best Hard News/General Reporting Story: Kathleen McKiernan, staff reporter at The Recorder of Greenfield, Mass., for New Law, New Partnerships

• Best Short-form Feature Reporting Story: Sean Horgan, reporter at the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times, for The Cape Ann Fallen

• Best Enterprise/Long-form Reporting Story: Doug Fraser, reporter at the Cape Cod Times of Hyannis, Mass., for Turtles Everywhere, and a Giant Emerges

• Best Watchdog or Neighborhood Reporting Story: Ann Baldelli, general assignment reporter, and Colin A Young, staff writer, both at The Day of New London, Conn., for Taken Land Yields Little for City

Besides the first of the NESNEs being added to the ceremony, this is the first year that the New England Journalism Educator of the Year, presented each year for the past five years, has been presented at the NESNE awards event.

The New England Journalism Educator of the Year was awarded to Marty Dobrow, a professor of communications at Springfield (Mass.) College.

Dobrow was nominated for the award by his longtime colleague, Ann Herzog, dean of the School of Arts, Science and Professional Studies at Springfield College.

The award is given to an educator “who is doing outstanding work in preparing the aspiring journalists that will lead our news organizations into the future.”

Dobrow said the award was a “humbling affirmation” of his life’s work.

“Hard work is where the good work is,” Dobrow said. He encouraged the young members of the audience to “do the hard work” of journalism.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle of Hamden, Conn., was presented the New England College Newspaper of the Year award. Seven staff members of the Chronicle attended to accept the award.

The first and second runners-up were, respectively, The Free Press of Boston University and The Harvard Crimson of Harvard University. Honorable mentions were given to The Summit of Stonehill College in North Easton, Mass.; The Mirror of Fairfield (Conn.) University and the Bowdoin Orient of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

The Journalism Education Foundation of New England, an affiliate of the New England Newspaper and Press Association, awarded six scholarships of $1,000 each to high school and college students who plan to pursue a career in journalism.

The 2016 scholarships were awarded to Matthew Couture of Emerson College in Boston; Amy McKeever of Stonehill College in North Easton, Mass.; Amanda Morris of New York University; Joshua Kery of Milton (Mass.) High School; Melanie Kos of Holyoke (Mass.) High School; Andrew Young of Stamford (Conn.) High School.

Couture, Kery, and McKeever were present to accept their scholarship awards.

The NESNE awards ceremony was held at the New England Newspaper and Press Association offices in Dedham, Mass.

The Samuel Adams Brewing Company of Boston and AT&T were sponsors at the event.

Karen Bordeleau, third from right, enjoys the awards ceremony with her guests and others in the audience. Bordeleau, retured executive editor and senior vice president of The Providence (R.I.) Journal, received the Judith Vance Weld Brown Award during the ceremony.

A miniature paperboy towers over cupcakes for the guests.

‘We do our best work when we have to keep topping it … That’s why I love this job.’

–Josh Kovner, Reporter
Hartford (Conn.) Courant,
Recipient, Master Reporter Award

Find the list and photos of:
> Individual award winners
> The NESNEs winners
> Student award winners

View the winners

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