Proving that they can field a variety of angles and subjects on their news beats, two reporters from The Hudson Reporter chain won accolades from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists recently. The awards were granted as Excellence in Journalism Awards for work done in 2011.
“These reporters put a lot of hard work into their stories and we’re very proud of the quality they and all of our editorial staff produce,” said Dave Unger, co-publisher of the Hudson Reporter. “I congratulate them.”
Showing both depth in handling a complicated subject and the ability to cover a wide ranges of subjects, E. Assata Wright, who covers Jersey City, and Adriana Rambay Fernandez, who covers Secaucus, each received second place honors in the statewide competition.
Wright covered the extremely controversial proposed Spectra gas line, slated to be installed through a portion of Jersey City. She won second place in the Best Local News category for providing her readership with a number of stories over the course of the year that highlighted the pros and cons of the project, the public outrage, and the eventual federal approval and its aftermath.
This was not Wright’s first venture into awards territory. Earlier this year, she led a team effort that secured a first place award for the Hudson Reporter staff in the category of “Freshest Treatment of a Tired Subject” from the New Jersey Press Association. The story was “Dining with Dwek,” about the restaurants who served an FBI informant during a large government sting.
She was also involved in an award-winning team effort that covered the impact of privatization of Hudson County hospitals.
Fernandez won second place in this year’s NJSJP’s Barto Award for first-year reporters for her ability to handle a number of subjects. She submitted three stories including “The life of a water bottle,” following the recycling process. Her entry also included “Strong words from Meadowlands Hospital owners: Claim union ‘sabotage[d]’ investigation, previous owners ‘cannibalized’ hospital,” which showed her talents in handling hard news subjects. Her third entry was “I had the Elvis curl. She had a car: How Bob and Marietta found long-lasting love,” a depiction of a local romance from the 1950s.
“These awards and the other awards we won over the past year really show a range of reporting on so many issues that affect our readers in different ways,” said Hudson Reporter Editor-in-Chief Caren Matzner. “Adriana submitted a body of work including both serious news and more lighthearted features, while Assata kept doggedly pursuing a safety and development issue that affected our neighborhoods. It just shows the different ways newspapers can improve life in local communities.”
“We really appreciate the effort our reporters put into their work,” said Publisher Lucha Malato. “It is nice that they have been recognized by a statewide organization for the quality of stories they write.”
These and other stories can be found at the Hudson Reporter website: http://www.hudsonreporter.com
The newspaper chain, with offices in Hoboken and Bayonne, publishes nine newspapers: The Hoboken Reporter, Bayonne Community News, Weehawken Reporter, Jersey City Reporter, Secaucus Reporter, North Bergen Reporter, Union City Reporter, West New York Reporter, and Midweek Reporter.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.