News-Review among the state’s best in annual contest

Times/Review Newsgroup took home more awards than any other community newspaper chain in the state at the New York Press Association’s annual convention in Saratoga Springs this past weekend.

The chain, which publishes the Riverhead News-Review, earned 610 total contest points in NYPA’s 2010 Better Newspaper Contest, 100 more points than the next closest newspaper group.

The Riverhead News-Review was among the top earners in total editorial contest points. More than 170 newspapers from throughout New York submitted 2,634 entries in 60 categories. The News-Review took home first place in the prestigious Best Editorial Page and Overall Design Excellence categories.

“A winner with clean design, good writing and solid editorials,” wrote one judge from Arizona, where this year’s contest entries were evaluated.

News-Review reporter Vera Chinese won first place for Feature Story, the most competitive category with 262 entries, for her profile on a family victimized by last year’s Horton Avenue flood.

“Your detail and writing style ensured I wouldn’t stop reading,” one judge wrote.

The News-Review also claimed a first place award for Headline Writing and contributing writer Bridget Degnan won first place in the Sports Feature category.

Photographer Barbaraellen Koch won second place honors for both Feature Photo and Sports Feature Photo, and a third-place award in the Art Photo category.

The News-Review took home second place honors for Coverage of Crime, Police and Courts, and the paper also won two awards in the advertising contest.

“The News-Review plays a vital role in the lives of our readers,” said publisher Andrew Olsen. “Our staff has always tried to bring the community to life in the paper, online and in our special sections.”

The competition was dominated by Long Island papers, with the Long Island Press earning the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence, the weekend’s top editorial prize. Herald Community Newspapers of Nassau County earned the second most contest points of any chain followed by The Press Newspaper Group of Southampton in third. Sag Harbor Express earned the second most editorial contest points of any single newspaper.

“It’s great to see all the Long Island weeklies perform so well,” Mr. Olsen said. “We’re honored to be considered among the best.”