Business

Times Review takes home top honors from better newspaper contest

Members of the Times Review staff after accepting the Newspaper of the Year award. (From left to right) Web editor Joe Werkmeister, account executive Liz Person, executive editor Grant Parpan, account executive Tina Volinski, Shelter Island Reporter editor Ambrose Clancy,  associate editor Jen Nuzzo, account executive Bill Peters, Suffolk Times and News-Review editor Michael White and publisher Andrew Olsen. (Credit: Terry McShane)
Members of the Times Review staff after accepting the Newspaper of the Year award. (From left to right) Web editor Joe Werkmeister, account executive Liz Person, executive editor Grant Parpan, account executive Tina Volinski, Shelter Island Reporter editor Ambrose Clancy, associate editor Jen Nuzzo, account executive Bill Peters, Suffolk Times and News-Review editor Michael White and publisher Andrew Olsen. (Credit: Terry McShane)

Times Review Media Group, publishers of the Riverhead News-Review, came out on top in the New York Press Association’s 2014 Better Newspaper Contest, announced this weekend.

The company — which also includes The Suffolk Times, the Shelter Island Reporter and northforker.com — earned more contest points than any other publisher for the second consecutive year. The News-Review won the Past Presidents’ Award for General Excellence, the only honor to measure all the elements of a newspaper.

“In-depth news coverage on a variety of subjects plus nice features keep readers well informed,” the judges said.

The News-Review claimed a total of 22 awards, including first place honors for Photographic Excellence, Coverage of Local Government, Sports Coverage, In-Depth Reporting, Best Obituaries, Best House Ad (Kendra Beavis) and Best Column (Grant Parpan).

News-Review reporter Paul Squire was a runner-up for Writer of the Year — an award won by fellow Times Review staffer Julie Lane of the Shelter Island Reporter — and longtime sports editor Bob Liepa was a runner-up for Sports Writer of the Year for their work in The Suffolk Times.

“It’s great to see so many members of our staff win such a wide range of awards,” said Times Review executive editor Grant Parpan. “We have an incredibly hard-working crew and I’m happy they’ve been rewarded for their talent and efforts.”

The Suffolk Times was awarded Newspaper of the Year for earning more contest points than any of the more than 175 publications entered in this year’s contest. The newspaper also claimed the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence — named for the former News-Review owner and publisher and claimed by the paper last year — awarded to the publication that earns the most editorial contest points. It’s the fifth time a Times Review Media Group publication has taken home that award in the past nine years and the first for The Suffolk Times since 2009.

This is only the second year NYPA has presented Newspaper of the Year. The Sag Harbor Express claimed the award last year.

It was again a strong showing for East End media with The Sag Harbor Express earning the most total contest points of any single-flag newspaper and The Press News Group of Southampton earning the second most total contest points. The staff of Riverheadlocal.com also took home several awards, including second place Writer of the Year honors for editor and co-publisher Denise Civiletti, a former co-publisher and executive editor at Times Review.

Members of the Iowa Press Association judged the contest, which included more than 3,000 entries in 64 categories. The awards were presented at the NYPA Convention Friday and Saturday in Saratoga Springs.

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