Bulletin Staff
Members of the audience at the awards luncheon at the New England Newspaper Conference.
Four newspapers each won two awards among the New England Newspaper of the Year and Publick Occurrences awards presented at the New England Newspaper Conference Thursday, Oct. 6.
The Providence (R.I.) Journal ended up reaping the most awards overall at the conference by also collecting two special awards for individual journalists and newspapers, one at the luncheon awards ceremony and one at the dinner awards event.
The Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine, also received a single special award, besides its single Newspaper of the Year and Publick Occurrences awards.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton, Mass., received a Publick Occurrences Award and a single special award for an individual journalist.
Besides the Providence Journal and the Sun Journal, the Andover (Mass.) Townsman also was recognized as Newspaper of the Year and received a Publick Occurrence Award.
The Hartford (Conn.) Courant won two Publick Occurrences Awards.
Publick Occurrences Awards recognize New England’s most outstanding journalism for the year of the awards competition.
The Providence Journal was honored as Newspaper of the Year for New England papers with circulation of 35,000 or more. Its series on “Race in Rhode Island” won a Publick Occurrence Award. Edward Achorn, editorial page editor of the Journal, received the Allan B. Rogers Editorial Award at the luncheon awards ceremony for his editorial, “A fraud, a farce, a dog-and-pony show.” Achorn also was honored with a Yankee Quill Award at the conference’s dinner awards ceremony.
The Sun Journal won Newspaper of the Year in the category of Sunday papers with circulation of 20,000 to 30,000. Its Publick Occurrence Award honored a series on “Benefit Bartering – Growing form of fraud: EBT cards to buy drugs.” The Sun Journal also was given the Morley L. Piper First Amendment Award for its fight to retain access to files of dismissed court cases.
The Townsman was recognized as the Newspaper of the Year for weeklies with circulation between 3,500 and 8,000. It also won a Publick Occurrences Award in the weekly newspaper category for “Opiate Crisis Hits Home.”
The Courant’s two Publick Occurrences awards were for “Portraits of Addiction” and for “Soccer Stadium Investigation.”
The Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Publick Occurrences Award was for “Letters from Inside.” Stanley Moulton, online managing editor and internship coordinator of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, received the Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award at the luncheon awards ceremony.
There were four winners of Newspaper of the Year honors for multiple years in a row. Six of the newspapers that received Publick Occurrences Awards this year also won Publick Occurrences Awards last year.
The Ellsworth (Maine) American won Newspaper of the Year for the sixth consecutive year. The Sunday Valley News of Lebanon, N.H., took Newspaper of the Year honors for the third year in a row. The Vermont Standard of Woodstock, Vt., and Worcester (Mass.) Magazine were recognized as Newspaper of rhe Year for the second straight year.
Winning Publick Occurrences Awards for the second time in two years were the Hartford Courant; the Daily Hampshire Gazette; The New England Center for Investigative Reporting, based at Boston University; The Day of New London, Conn.; The Republican of Springfield, Mass.; and The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, based in Hallowell.
Douglas Moser of The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass., won the final special award during the luncheon award ceremony, as the AP Sevellon Brown New England Journalist of the Year.
The following are all of the award winners at the luncheon awards ceremony, held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Natick, Mass.:
Special Awards
Allan B. Rogers Editorial Award:
Edward Achorn,
The Providence (R.I.) Journal: “A fraud, a farce, a dog-and-pony show”
Morley L. Piper First Amendment Award:
Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine,
for its fight to retain access to files of dismissed court cases
AP Sevellon Brown New England Journalist of the Year:
Douglas Moser,
The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award:
Stanley Moulton,
Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.
Newspaper of the Year
Winners and Distinguished runners-up
Weekday newspapers, Circulation less than 10,000
Winner: Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times
Distinguished: Taunton (Mass.) Daily Gazette;
The Westerly (R.I.) Sun
Weekday newspapers, Circulation 10,000-15,000
Winner: The MetroWest Daily News of Framingham, Mass.
Distinguished: The Recorder of Greenfield, Mass.
Weekday newspapers, Circulation 15,000-20,000
Winner: The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass.
Distinguished: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press
Weekday newspapers, Circulation 20,000-35,000
Winner: The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass.
Distinguished: The Day of New London, Conn.;
Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine
Weekday newspapers, Circulation 35,000 or more
Winner: The Providence (R.I.) Journal
Distinguished: The Republican of Springfield, Mass.;
Republican-American of Waterbury, Conn.
Sunday newspapers, Circulation less than 20,000
Winner: Sunday Valley News of Lebanon, N.H.
Distinguished: The MetroWest Daily News of Framingham, Mass; Weekend Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton, Mass.
Sunday newspapers, Circulation 20,000-30,000
Winner: Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine
Distinguished: Sunday Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass.
Sunday newspapers, Circulation 30,000-45,000
Winner: The Sunday Republican of Waterbury, Conn.
Distinguished: Cape Cod Times of Hyannis, Mass.
Sunday newspapers, Circulation 45,000 or more
Winner: Sunday Telegram of Worcester, Mass.
Distinguished: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant
Weekly community newspapers, Circulation less than 3,500
Winner: The Vermont Standard of Woodstock, Vt.
Distinguished: The Foxboro (Mass.) Reporter; The Block Island (R.I.) Times
Weekly community newspapers, Circulation 3,500-8,000
Winner: Andover (Mass.) Townsman
Distinguished: Mount Desert Islander of Bar Harbor, Maine;
The Inquirer and Mirror of Nantucket, Mass.
Weekly community newspapers, Circulation 8,000 or more
Winner: The Ellsworth (Maine) American
Distinguished: Vineyard Gazette of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
Specialty newspapers
Winner: Worcester (Mass.) Magazine
Distinguished: Providence (R.I.) Business News; Banker & Tradesman of Boston
Publick Occurrences Awards
Daily
The Hartford (Conn.) Courant: “Portraits of Addiction”
The Eye/The New England Center for Investigative Reporting: “Out of the Shadows”
Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg, Mass.: “The Alphabet”
The Day of New London, Conn.: “I-95: Deadly Overcrowded”
The Providence (R.I.) Journal: “Race in Rhode Island”
Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton, Mass.:
“Letters from Inside”
Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine: “Benefit Bartering – Growing form of fraud: EBT cards to buy rugs”
The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press: “DCF Employee Slain in Barre”
The Republican of Springfield, Mass.:
“Opioid Crisis: Justin Morin Story”
The Herald News of Fall River, Mass.: “Future of Fall River”
The Hartford (Conn.) Courant:
“Soccer Stadium Investigation”
The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting:
“Lottery: Selling hope to the hopeless”
Publick Occurrences Awards
Weekly
Vineyard Gazette of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.:
“Coastal Ponds under Pressure”
The Inquirer and Mirror of Nantucket, Mass.:
“Ethics, the Land Bank and a Public Trust”
Andover (Mass.) Townsman: “Opiate Crisis Hits Home”