The paper that can

The River Reporter takes ‘Best of Show’ in statewide competition

ALBANY, NY — Named “Best of Show,” The River Reporter celebrated its 30 th anniversary year with an unprecedented showing in the 2004 Better Newspaper Contest.

Winners of the yearly New York Press Association (NYPA) competition were announced last weekend at NYPA’s spring convention and trade show.

To the applause of over 600 colleagues attending the convention, Publisher and Editor Laurie Stuart extended both arms in a victorious thrust after accepting the Best of Show award at the end of Saturday night’s awards banquet at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Stuart said the newspaper’s top rating was “the highest personal accomplishment of my journalistic career.”

The Best of Show Award was sponsored by the national publication American Profile, which honored the best “single flag” (independent) newspaper and newspaper corporation that garnered the largest amount of contest points.

The honor resulted from TRR’s performance in competition earlier in the weekend, where the weekly newspaper collected a total of 235 contest points with nine first-place awards, four second-place awards and three third-place honors. Under the competition point-system rules, the showing scored nearly a third higher than TRR’s nearest single-flag competitor, The Riverdale Press.

In the official contest publication, “Celebrating Newspaper Excellence,” SUNY Oswego writer Latricia Newsome wrote of TRR, “This impressive, single-flag company collected nine first place awards, including top honors for Coverage of Education, Sports Coverage, In-Depth Reporting, Spot News Coverage, Best Special Section Cover, Best Special Section, Best Ad Campaign—Large Space, Best House Ad, and bridging the gap one more time … Blooper of the Year! [Click here for full article.]

“Laurie Stuart, publisher, says the success of the newspaper is attributed to the relationships her staff have developed with the people in the community they cover. ‘We are incredibly community-minded and truly appreciate the area and [its] level of trust’.”

Balancing out the newspaper’s editorial prowess, TRR’s advertising department finished a strong second in the contest’s rating for overall advertising excellence.

“This is a validation of the strength of teamwork, collaboration and intent. We aspired, all year long, collectively and individually, to be an award-winning paper, to produce award-winning articles, ads, special sections and features. Our efforts did not go unrecognized; our intention was indeed fulfilled,” Stuart wrote in a tribute to her staff. (See centerfold.)

Members of the Texas Press Association judged this year’s contest, which included 4,159 entries from 189 weekly newspapers across New York. Awards judging is done two ways, either in open competition among all, or by divisions based upon circulation.

The awards

• Coverage of Education, Division 2, First Place.

The judges said, “Complete coverage, tight writing, enterprise in these issues. I sense a standing order by the editor to get at least one off-the-cuff, ‘golly Martha’ quote in each story. With a staff like this one on the job, the quality of education in this community must increase.”

• Coverage of Elections/Politics, Division 2, Second Place.

The judges said, “The paper does a great job with local election coverage—local being the key.”

• Sports Coverage, Division 2, First Place.

Very good writing style, very entertaining, wide variety of coverage. Good detail and mixture with photos—good presentation.”

Sport Editor Richard Ross said, “Newspapers with larger sports staffs [more than one] wanted to know the secret to getting such wide comprehensive coverage. It starts with a burning passion to be inclusive, edgy and far-reaching. The way I see it, there are no boundaries.”

• In-Depth Reporting, Division 2, First Place: Tom Kane, Charlie Buterbaugh, David Hulse.

The judges said, “I gave this first place because the reporters really did in-depth reporting on Tropical Storm Ivan’s many facets. History, photography and extensive reporting kept my interest. Most of all, particularly in the farm impact stories. I enjoyed reading about so many farmers and how the flooding affected their livelihood.”

• Spot News Coverage, Division 2, First Place: David Hulse.

The judges said, “It takes a skilled writer to do effective follow-ups. Hulse spaces data in logical chunks, quotes are judiciously inserted (Sept 9-15 [Mamakating] flash flooding story).”

• Spot News Coverage, Division 2, Second Place: Charlie Buterbaugh, David Hulse, Tom Kane.

The judges said, “Team effort delivers comprehensive flood coverage in Sept. 23-29 issue. Three good reporters on the job.”

• Feature Story, Division 2, Third Place: David Hulse.

The judges said, “Proof that a sweet feature doesn’t have to be epic in length [Profile of Smiling Sunshine].”

• Best Special Section Cover, Division 1, First Place.

The judges said, “Crisp color, nice creativity using actual art from a teenager instead of “canned” art. Makes it original. This cover really appeals to the eye, making me want to see what is inside…[‘Teen Amphibian’]”

• Special Sections, Division 1, First Place

The judges said, “Outstanding layout…both editorially and advertising. Extremely good use of color, although this would probably be one of those rare ones that would look very good in black and white. Well-written articles, great photography and good capitalization on a subject [‘Our Country Home’].”

• Special Sections, Division 1, Third Place.

The judges said, “Loved the idea! Great layout, clean from front to back. Plenty of ads. Only thing I might have done differently would be the cover, though I plan to steal your idea for an ad [‘Twenty-Something’].”

• Best Advertising Campaign, Large Space, First Place (no divisions in this category).

The judges wrote, “Burn Barrel Campaign—Headlines and artwork got my attention and the facts were presented pretty concisely. The twist/irony between photo and headline really drew me in.”

• Best Large Space Ad, Division 1, Second Place.

The judges said, “Good use of color, clean with good placement of elements. Well-balanced and attractive…all and all nicely done and very presentable. [First National Bank of Jeffersonville].”

• Best Multi-Advertiser Pages, Division 1, Second Place.

The judges wrote, “Except maybe animals, who could resist? [Pet pages].”

• Best Multi-Advertiser Pages, Division 1, Third Place.

The judges wrote, “Clever promotion not only generates revenue but draws reader interest as well. [Presidential Trivia].”

• Best House Ad/Ad Campaign, Division 1, First Place.

The judges wrote, “Very eye-catching “Free Stuff” always gets a reader’s attention—very clever all around.”

• Blooper of the Year, First Place (no divisions)

The judges wrote, “Wow! I bet it took a while to live that one down and make reparations to the German community. This is my favorite in a tough category with lots of laughter [Octoberfest ad spelling knochwurst as “Kockwurst].”

For a full-page spread, "The River Reporter wins "Best of Show'," click here.