The writers, graphic artists, and advertising account executives for the Hudson Reporter newspapers recently won 14 awards in the prestigious Better Newspaper Contest run annually by the New Jersey Press Association.
Members of the graphics and sales staffs won eight awards for work that appeared in the Bayonne Community News and the various Reporter papers. The staff writers won six awards for investigative and feature stories.
The newspaper chain, founded in 1983 in Hoboken, publishes eight newspapers: The Hoboken Reporter, Bayonne Community News, Weehawken Reporter, Jersey City Reporter, Secaucus Reporter, North Bergen Reporter, Union City Reporter, and the West New York Reporter.
The company also publishes the life-style magazines Hoboken 07030, Jersey City Magazine, and Bayonne – Life on the Peninsula.
The stories appear on www.hudsonreporter.com.
Co-publishers Dave Unger and Lucha Malato were gratified by the recognition accorded their work force:
“Once again, our talented and hard working editorial, sales, and graphic departments have brought recognition and accolades to our company, and we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Editorial awards
In one of the most competitive categories, investigative reporting, former Hoboken Reporter beat reporter Dean DeChiaro won for his February, 2014 story about possibly fraudulent voter activity in Hoboken. The story in the Hoboken Reporter, titled “Hoboken’s Legacy of Vote by Mail Schemes,” detailed how political organizations have for years influenced elections in advance by sending workers into senior citizen and low-income housing buildings to encourage residents to fill out absentee ballots, possibly for their candidate.
The awards jury commented, “a great job of revealing the facts.”
The story also won third place in another category, Responsible Journalism – Public Service – the Lloyd P. Burns Memorial Award. It can be found using the search engine at hudsonreporter.com.
A pair of stories by Hoboken beat reporter Carlo Davis won first place in the state in the Robert P. Kelly Award competition, which recognizes writers new to the profession. His story in the Hoboken Reporter of Sept. 7, 2014 titled “Caught in Between” explored the debate between hospital obstetricians and home birth midwives over which approach to pregnancy is safer. It was paired with a feature story, “Turning back the tide,” about the new permanent home for the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Hoboken.
The awards selection jury called the stories, “Outstanding reporting by a novice, very impressed.”
Staff writer Art Schwartz won third place in the same category. “Last Words” in the December 21 Union City Reporter profiled a Union City teacher’s book about her work as a hospice chaplain. Another story in the Union City Reporter from Sept. 9, 2014 titled “Hudson County’s Changing Jewish Landscape” showed how Jewish congregations in Hudson County have been forced by demographic changes to consolidate.
The awards jury called the second story “a great historical look at the area’s Jewish community.”
Editor-in-Chief Caren Matzner said, “All of the awards, whether for art, advertising, or writing, are evidence of talent, hard work, and dedication to the public service of educating readers about what’s going on around them. We’re particularly proud when we do the investigative stories, as we became journalists to get past the spin to find the root of the truth, and it takes a lot of time to get the right documentation despite all the roadblocks put in front of us.”
First place in graphics and sales
The Reporter’s sales and graphics teams scored three first place awards.
Two of them were in the Advertising Contest division. “Shop Small this Holiday Season” won Best Special Topic Page by Senior Graphics Artist Pasquale Spina and Advertising Manager Tish Kraszyk, and appeared in the Bayonne Community News. “Bayonne: Life On The Peninsula,” the company’s new lifestyle magazine for that city, was called the Best New Project 2014, credited to the full staff, including magazine editor Kate Rounds.
“Year after year,” Spina said, “the creativity and passion of our graphic team excels. It is with pride that I congratulate my colleagues on their achievements in this year’s NJPA contest, and at the same time grateful and humbled to have been chosen once again as one of the winners.”
“As publishers of the weekly newspaper, the Bayonne Community News, we knew that Bayonne was filled with artists, entrepreneurs, and community activists,” said Rounds. “All it needed was the proper vehicle for these voices to be heard. Our writers and artists did just that, creating a glossy lifestyle format to showcase the town and its talented citizens.”
“This magazine was very positively received by the people of Bayonne,” Kraszyk said. “To now be recognized by our peers at The New Jersey Press Association is the icing on the cake.”
The third first place Advertising Contest award in the Best External Promotion or Media Kit category was won by Senior Graphics Artists Lisa M. Cuthbert and Kraszyk for “Cowabunga,” appearing in the Hoboken Reporter.
“It’s really terrific that our graphic and editorial teams did so well in the NJPA awards contest,” Cuthbert said. “As always it is great to be recognized by your peers for individual accomplishments. I am, however, especially thrilled that our new magazine, Bayonne: Life on the Peninsula placed First for Best New Project for 2014. That’s quite an honor. Congratulations to all for a job well done!”
Second place awards in the Advertising Contest division were for “Smokin’ Barrel” (Best Ad in a Niche Publication/Magazine) credited to Spina and Senior Account Executive Toni Anne Calderone appearing in the Hoboken Reporter and “The Huddle Zone,” in the same category, was the company’s Super Bowl publication, and was credited to the full staff.
Members of the graphics department also won three third place awards.
Two of the winning entries appeared in the Hoboken Reporter. They were “We Keep It Safe For You,” in the Best Ad Professional & Technology Services – Color category, created by Graphics Staff Artist Michael Mitolo and former Account Executive Joseph Calderone; and “Discover Your Holiday Treasures,” in the Best Special Section Cover category, created by Cuthbert.
Kraszyk and Senior Graphics Staff Artist Terri Saulino Bish won third place in the category Best Newspaper Promotion or House Ad for “Looking,” which appeared in the Weehawken Reporter. “I am surrounded by very talented people,” Saulino said. “We work really hard and it’s nice to be recognized for the effort.”
The Advertising Awards Celebration for retail and classified advertising and online advertising winners will be held on Thursday, April 9. Press Night for editorial, online (editorial) and photography awards will be at The Manor in Hamilton on Thursday, April 23.