Celebrating

BEST NEWS WEB SITE
FIRST PLACE
Long Island Press, Syosset
Wow, what a beautifully designed site. Form and
function work effectively side-by-side on this well
executed website. A hierarchy of dominant images
and headlines and smaller clusters of descending
significance plays just as well on the digital platform as
it does in our print editions. This coupled with the
clean layout swaths a clear path for the eyes to follow,
free of distraction and clutter. Each item is illustrated
with impactful images to draw the visitor in. But this
site isn’t just a pretty face, the thought provoking
insightful writing is complemented by the stylish
presentation. The range from in-depth analysis and
news articles, to entertainment guides, to news of the
weird provides quality content for a broad variety of
site users. The advertising, from site sponsors, is
tastefully presented in large format with enough space
to express their messages. Site navigation is easy and
intuitive. Newsletter sign-up is simple too. Overall
excellent job.
SECOND PLACE
The Sag Harbor Express, Sag Harbor
Strong design elements allow this site to present a large
amount of information in a well-organized and
pleasing manner. Navigation is a breeze. Site visitors
should find it easy to locate content they are interested
in with the user-centric labeling of items. The colorcoded
special topic buttons and stylish homepage
slider are very appealing. Photo galleries are displayed
in a visually attractive and user-friendly fashion.
Advertisements are well-designed, your advertisers
should be pleased with the layouts and placements.
THIRD PLACE
Queens Courier, Queens
I usually don’t care for pop-up splashes on the
homepage, but this one is well done. Gives a quick
reference to guide visitors to the right path like an
information kiosk. The subscription promotion with a
trip giveaway is a nice tie to enticing subscribers.
Minimalist navigation menu and design makes it easy
for users to find their way around the site. Nice use of
ads interspersed in the homepage content for a clean
and effective presentation.
HONORABLE MENTION
Gay City News, New York
Paul Schindler
Abundance of unique content presented for readers.
Eye-catching treatment of the homepage slider.
Combining the multiple menus and streamlining the
homepage article lists (less columns maybe?) would
take this entry to the next level for me.
COVERAGE OF LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
D I V I S I O N 1
FIRST PLACE
The Sag Harbor Express, Sag Harbor
Stephen J. Kotz and Mara Certic
Excellent coverage! While some of the other entries
seemed to be regurgitating meeting handouts, your
staff went the extra mile to get quotes from officials but
also from those people in the community impacted.
SECOND PLACE
Adirondack Daily Enterprise,
Saranac Lake
Chris Knight
Great coverage! While some newspapers seemed to
give the talking points of boards as fact and left it as
that, you questioned it and gave a good mix to present
each viewpoint without making the decision for the
reader.
THIRD PLACE
The Altamont Enterprise
and Albany County Post, Altamont
All excellent stories that covered all sides and gave
good background on issues that obviously had an
impact on life in the area. I don’t like stories that run
on forever unless they have content that has a point,
but these kept me interested throughout the read.
D I V I S I O N 2
FIRST PLACE
The Southampton Press-Western Edition,
Westhampton Beach
Kyle Campbell, Greg Wehner,
Erin McKinley and Alyssa Melillo
Obviously an entertaining set of government agencies/
issues/personalities. Coverage is well done and shows
long-term commitment.
SECOND PLACE
The Yorktown News, Yorktown
Brian Marschhauser
Love the councilman hiding behind a curtain! Good,
consistent coverage of town government.
THIRD PLACE
The Spotlight (Delmar), Delmar
Ali Hibbs
Lots going on here; good job of staying on top of it!
Excellence Awards
D I V I S I O N 3
FIRST PLACE
Ithaca Times, Ithaca
Bill Chaisson and Josh Brokaw
Consistently thought-provoking enterprise coverage
on a variety of topical, high-impact issues. Thorough
reporting drills down to the heart of the matter.
Compelling design and effective photography
enhance the story-telling.
SECOND PLACE
Daily Messenger, Canandaigua
Julie Sherwood
Aggressively tackles a difficult and divisive
community issue from a variety of angles without
waiting for meetings or hearings to move things
along. Comprehensive reporting reveals the links
between policy and politics, raising important
questions for the public’s consideration.
THIRD PLACE
The Photo News, Monroe
Religious, political and cultural issues collide in this
courageous coverage of how a seemingly simple
zoning proposal turned into a clash of community
values and interests. Reporting and writing powerfully
reflect the naturally occurring drama of the debate
without artificially hyping it.
COVERAGE OF EDUCATION
D I V I S I O N 1
FIRST PLACE
Long Island Business News, Ronkonkoma
Claude Solnik
Wow! Strong reporting and great graphics and
sidebars. Very nice package.
SECOND PLACE
Long Island Press, Syosset
Jaime Franchi
Really good writing and the stories are very
compelling and pull the reader along. I didn’t see a lot
of first hand stuff from the governor’s side, however.
THIRD PLACE
The Sag Harbor Express, Sag Harbor
Kathryn G. Menu, Annette Hinkle
and Tessa Raebeck
Balanced reporting on Common Core gies the reader
a good understanding of the issue. Very nice package.
Very nice mix of stories. I would have liked to see
some kid comments in the cyber attack piece,
HONORABLE MENTION
The Altamont Enterprise
and Albany County Post, Altamont
Good mix of stories and excellent reporting in each
one! Good job!
D I V I S I O N 2
FIRST PLACE
The Red Hook Star-Revue, Brooklyn
George Fiala and Kimberly Price
Kimberly Gail Price’s article on PS15’s project draws
the reader in to share real moments with real people.
An outstanding read with a fantastic lead:
“That’s so Brooklyn!”
SECOND PLACE
The Suffolk Times, Mattituck
Jen Nuzzo, Grant Parpan and Nicole Smith
From decades of valedictorians, school bonds and
athletic department staffing to kites, cadets and e-
cigarettes, the Suffolk Times submissions delivered
entertaining and informative insight into the local
education community.
THIRD PLACE
Albany Business Review, Albany
Megan Rogers
In articles on high-tech automotive career training
and academic entrepreneurs, Megan Rogers delivers
Albany Business Review readers clear information
supporting the direct role of education in securing
viable careers.
HONORABLE MENTION
Business First of Buffalo, Buffalo
Dan Miner, James Fink and Scott Thomas
In Dan Miner’s profile of University of Buffalo
President Satith Tripathi, readers share a personal
glimpse of Tripathi’s remarkable life spanning the
extremes of academic settings.
D I V I S I O N 3
FIRST PLACE
The Riverdale Press, Bronx
Isabel Angell
Nice Kids. Good Schools. Hard Drugs. — A Press
special report. The lead in to this deep story started
with a personal story which pulled the reader in, and
although the feature was long, it was a quick read and a
great inside look at what is happening to our teens. I
only judged three categories — about 100 entries —
but of all I read and viewed, this was the tops. The
reporter also wrote about kids going hungry after school
lets out, a breaking news gas blast at a school and
overcrowding. Isabel Angell is a real pro that any
newsroom would cherish. Kudos, Isabel, for a stellar
submission.
SECOND PLACE
Merrick Herald Life, Merrick
Scott Brinton and Julie Mansmann
This was a grouping of strong reporting in current, key
issues, from sports concussions to a favorite educator
who passed, to the impact on drugs on teens (with
breakout boxes this was a must read for parents) and a
report on problems with common core. Again, a solid
effort.
THIRD PLACE
Ithaca Times, Ithaca
Josh Broka, Michael Nocella and Bill Chaisson
Variety of stories welcome from this pool of reporters.
Readers well served by solid, nuts and bolts journalism.
HONORABLE MENTION
Rockville Centre Herald, Rockville Centre
Alex Costello
This was a close finish with the second and third place
entries. Reporter has a strong nose for news and the
variety of topics was appreciated. Writing is engaging,
which can be difficult on the education beat. I think
Alex would make a great crime reporter.
COVERAGE OF BUSINESS,
FINANCIAL & ECONOMIC NEWS
FIRST PLACE
Business First of Buffalo, Buffalo
James Fink, Dan Miner, Allissa Kline
and David Bertola
The strongest entry in this category by a wide margin.
Each article in the package was well-written and wellsourced.
The writers kept an eye on neighboring
economies yet maintained a steadfast focus on the
business environment of their coverage area.
Bully to you.
SECOND PLACE
Livingston County News, Geneseo
Ben Beagle and Matt Leader
What struck me about this entry was the demonstrated
breadth in business coverage for a paper that does not
specialize in business news. You had strong continuing
coverage of Coast that anchored itself in an
understanding of the impact on local jobs. The Avon
Kraft plant story likewise remained grounded by a focus
on employment. The business profile of Monk’s Bread
was also well done. Overall clean, well-researched
writing that taught me several new things — it’s hard
to ask for more.
THIRD PLACE
Albany Business Review, Albany
This was a strong entry overall with clean writing,
interesting subject matter and solid research (for the
most part — there were some stray areas where I would
have liked better source attribution, like the pool sales
figure in the profile of Mark Laven). Honestly, this
package could have easily made second and been a
contender for first if it weren’t for the story on
Lionheart Pub. I’m not against first-person voice when
it suits the story -- in this case, it cost the story its clarity
and authenticity.
HONORABLE MENTION
Long Island Press, Syosset
Timothy Bolger and Spencer Rumsey
Serious, well-researched and — most importantly —
relevant coverage of Long Island business.
COVERAGE OF THE ARTS
D I V I S I O N 1
FIRST PLACE
Adirondack Daily Enterprise,
Saranac Lake
Tom Salitsky
All of the stories in this collection of entries were
worth reading — from beginning to end. In “Lake
Placid native gets Oscar nod for movie sound,” staff
writer Tom Salitsky pulled me in with an effective lead
about the subject’s first career shoveling horse manure.
Great use of quotes. Salitsky also wrote a compelling
lead for his story “Artist will paint pond on basketball
court.” He also did a great job reporting on the
intricacies involved in the art process. In his story
“Music in matrimony,” Salitsky once again does an
excellent job illustrating this couple’s personalities
through the way they interact with each other with the
use of effective quotes. Well done.
SECOND PLACE
The Scarsdale Inquirer, Scarsdale
In “Artist finds die-hard fans for her mini crime
scenes,” Debra Banerjee writes a fascinating story
about a former crime beat reporter who finds therapy
through miniature crime scenes. Banerjee does a great
job describing the former crime reporter’s background
and what led her to this strange art. Great quotes and
descriptions.Banerjee also wrote a fun story about
Scarsdale’s clown and did a great job describing Mark
Gindick’s background and how he came into this line
of work. Linda Leavitt’s review “Too much money,
not enough love, just enough wit,” was also an
interesting read and well done.
THIRD PLACE
The Southampton Press-Eastern Edition,
Southampton
What a great story “Shoot for the Stage” about an
often misunderstood and forgotten group of people
when it comes to arts coverage and life in general —
generation Y. Staff writer Michelle Trauring captured
me from the beginning of her story as she described
“entitled, lazy and narcissistic” youth, then shattered
these stereotypes as the storyunfolds and I got to know
some of the youth playwrights. Trauring also tells an
interesting story in “Fireside Sessions at Bay Street
rock on” and provides effective descriptions
throughout her stories. Great job.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Suffolk Times, Mattituck
Grant Parpan, Vera Chinese, Paul Squire
and Nicole Smith
D I V I S I O N 2
FIRST PLACE
Our Town Downtown, New York
Gabrielle Alfiero, Mary Gregory
and Val Castronovo
Very nice presentation! I loved Gabrielle’s profile of
sculptor Lynda Caspe. The photos with the Alice
piece were compelling and using the Ratatouille art
with the kids’ book expo was pretty.
SECOND PLACE — TIE
Epoch Times, New York
Yvonne Marcotte
Lively writing and great presentations on the artists.
I especially enjoyed the profile on Rayanne Rysinger.
SECOND PLACE — TIE
The Villager (NYC), New York
I love the variety of topics, including haunted houses,
Guerrilla Girls, and Penny Arcade. These are lively
pages with bright writing that I’m sure your readers
look forward to each issue.
THIRD PLACE
Queens Chronicle, Queens
Cristina Schreil
Very interesting range of topics covered in the Arts
pages, with lively writing and excellent use of graphics
and photos on most pages.
HONORABLE MENTION
Long Island Weekly
Jennifer Fauci
Very interesting story with great details. Lots of photos
made this a very nice package.
COVERAGE OF THE
ENVIRONMENT
FIRST PLACE
Adirondack Daily Enterprise,
Saranac Lake
Shaun Kittle
Great variety of topics, all with local relevance,
intelligently reported and enhanced by strong
graphics. Accessible writing style and anecdotal
examples connect with readers who might otherwise
be put off by scientific jargon.
SECOND PLACE
Ithaca Times, Ithaca
Josh Brokaw and Bill Chaisson
Excellent array of enterprise stories whose authority
comes from informed, multi-layered reporting.
Confident writing style and structure, combined with
effective graphics, compel the reader to follow
through to the end.
THIRD PLACE
Long Island Press, Syosset
Spencer Rumsey, Kaitlin Gallagher
and Sylvia Durres
This is how you turn what might be considered
routine breaking stories into information-rich
resources for local readers. Writers’ versatility,
knowledge, and keen interest in the subject matter
show through in an impressive variety of topics
and issues.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Suffolk Times, Mattituck
Paul Squire, Chris Lisinski and Rachel Young
Consumer-friendly reporting, writing and packaging
are powerfully displayed with stunning graphics
and design.
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