NYSAPA WRITING CONTEST WINNERS 2007-2008
UNDER 25,000 Circulation
SPOT NEWS REPORTING
1st Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, A well-loved woman, a tragic end, Stephanie Bergeron, Jessica Pierce
2nd Place, The Saratogian, Saratoga Springs, What schools don't know can hurt, Andrew Bernstein
3rd Place, The Daily News, Batavia, Family of four killed in head-on crash, Paul Mrozek, Scott DeSmit
FEATURES
1st Place,The Citizen, Auburn, Embracing their roots, Alyssa Sunkin
2nd Place, Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, Acclaimed Wilmington trainer bonds with horses, Suzanne Moore
3rd Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, The baby in room 27, Jessica Pierce
HM: Register-Star, Hudson, Neighborhood vanishes from the map, but not the heart of residents, John Mason
SPORTS
1st Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Coaching styles, Stephanie Bergeron, Jessica Pierce
2nd Place, Olean Times Herald, Forrest hands Blocher Men's Am title, Chuck Pollock
3rd Place, The Daily News, Batavia, A lot of guts, a little glory, Tom Rivers
HM, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Journeys of inspiration, Kris Dreessen
SPORTS COLUMN
1st Place, Olean Times Herald, Pollock's columns, Chuck Pollock
2nd Place, The Saratogian, Racing columns by Jeff Scott, Jeff Scott
3rd Place, The Leader-Herald, Gloversville, Rules allow competitive pretending, Bill Cain
HM, The Saratogian, Critical time for NY racing, Michael Veitch
COLUMNS
1st Place, Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, You had to ask, Steve Ouellette
2nd Place, The Daily News, Batavia, Town supervisors, village mayors, define the working poor, Tom Rivers
3rd Place, Finger Lakes Times, Geneva, From where I sit, Anne Schuhle
HM, The Record, Troy, Boys don't have to be sons of bitches, Siobhan Connally
BUSINESS/FINANCE
1st Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Nasty surprises, Philip Anselmo
2nd Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Airport disputes, Julie Sherwood
3rd Place, The Daily Star, Oneonta, Bluestone mining is on a rise, Patricia Breakey
EDITORIALS
1st Place, The Leader-Herald, Gloversville, Gloversville ignores request; Paper pursues information, City should end mayor's buyouts, Tim Fonda
2nd Place, The Ithaca Journal, South Hill elementary school testing, Andrew Tutino
3rd Place, The Daily Star, Oneonta, Editorials by Sam Pollak, Sam Pollak
HM, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Editorials by Kevin Frisch, Kevin Frisch
DEPTH REPORTING
1st Place, The Citizen, Auburn, Can this deal really work?, Amaris Elliott-Engel
2nd Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Dying for a fix, Jessica Pierce, Julie Sherwood
3rd Place, The Citizen, Auburn, The quiet drug trade, Amaris Elliott-Engel
HM, The Ithaca Journal, Touched by poverty, Staff
CONTINUING COVERAGE
1st Place, The Saratogian, Future of racing in Saratoga, Paul Post
2nd Place, The Ithaca Journal, Human rights challenge, Topher Sanders
3rd Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, An almost unbelievable tragedy, Philip Anselmo, Stephanie Bergeron, Allison Cooper,
BEAT REPORTING
1st Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, The Town of Victor, Jessica Pierce
2nd Place, Niagara Gazette, Restaino removed, Rick Pfeiffer
3rd Place, The Ithaca Journal, Environmental reporting, Krissy Gashler
HM, The Saratogian, City beat, police/fire, Andrew Bernstein
BRIGHTEST HEADLINE
1st Place, Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, U.S. readers not getting their words' worth, Robert Grady
2nd Place, The Saratogian, Molding clay into spam, Paul Tackett
3rd Place, The Record, Troy, Short-sheeted, James V. Franco
HM, Finger Lakes Times, Geneva, It's as easy as one, two, Wii, Heidi Bruening
ONLINE CONTENT
1st Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Fairport's angels, Messenger staff
2nd Place, The Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, Operation pothole, Messenger staff
3rd Place, Niagara Gazette, On deck at the cave of the winds, James Neiss
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT WRITING
1st Place, The Daily News, Batavia, It's hip to be a 'Chuck', Ben Beagle
2nd Place, Daily and Sunday Freeman, Kingston, More than a day a the farm, Bonnie Langston
3rd Place, Register-Star, Hudson, A banner idea, John Mason
HM, Tonawanda News, Still spinning, Phil Dzikiy
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM
1st Place, The Citizen, Auburn, David Wilcox game reviews, David Wilcox
2nd Place, Tonawanda News, Listen up; Prime time gladiators, Young at heart, Phil Dzikiy
3rd Place, The Daily News, Batavia, Holmes' plays a lively game at Geva, Ben Beagle
BLOGGING
1st Place, The Leader-Herald, Gloversville, Bill's broadsides, Bill Ackerbauer
MULTIMEDIA PACKAGES
1st Place, Tonawanda News, Strokes of Light, Michele DeLuca
25,000-50,000 Circulation
SPOT NEWS
1st Place, Observer-Dispatch, Utica, Fire at the brewery, Staff
2nd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Arlington high school plot, Alice Hunt, Christine Pizzutti, John Barry
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Remembering Jonny Podres, Ken Tingley, Tim McManus
FEATURES
1st Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Helping him find his way, Amanda Bensen
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Living a positive life, Lisa Bramen
3rd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Accident survivor, Kathleen Wereszynski Murray
SPORTS
1st Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Sports and Faith, Kate Fagan Tim McManus
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, 24 hours, Kate Fagan
3rd Place, Watertown Daily Times, The man behind the mask, Max Delsignore
HM, Watertown Daily Times, The rehabilitation of Brian Wells, Gregory Gay
SPORTS COLUMN
1st Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Commentary - New York Yankees, Pete Colaizzo
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Kate Fagan commentary, Kate Fagan
3rd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, ,Commentary - Matt Brady, Dan Pietrafesa
COLUMNS
1st Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Tingley local columns, Ken Tingley
2nd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Our turn, Sarah Bradshaw
3rd Place, Star-Gazette, Elmira, Real Life, Jim Pfiffer
BUSINESS/FINANCE
1st Place, Observer-Dispatch, Utica, Empire zones, Tory N. Parrish
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, State of delay, Will Doolittle
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, South St. revitalization: Waking up a street of dreams, Melissa Guay, Maury Thompson
EDITORIALS
1st Place, Observer-Dispatch, Utica, Hinckley reservoir, Dave Dudajek
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Protecting our children, Mark Mahoney
3rd Place, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, High-speed - whatever happened?, Art Clayman
DEPTH REPORTING
1st Place, Observer-Dispatch, Utica, Lead: Mohawk Valley's silent crisis, Elizabeth Cooper, Angelica A. Morrison, Jennifer Fusco,
2nd Place, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, The unbanked, Sara Foss
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, How did this happen?, Don Lehman
HM, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, Police overtime, Kathleen Moore, Steven Cook
CONTINUING COVERAGE
1st Place, Observer-Dispatch, Utica, Hinckley reservoir, Bryon Ackerman, Jennifer Fusco, Elizabeth Cooper
2nd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Diversity in Dutchess, Staff
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, How did this happen?, Don Lehman
BEAT REPORTING
1st Place, Observer-Dispatch, Utica, City of Utica, Renee Gamela
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Public safety, Don Lehman
3rd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Morey murder trails, Larry Hertz
HM, Star-Gazette, Elmira, Selection of stories by Larry Wilson, Larry Wilson
BRIGHTEST HEADLINE
1st Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Down in a blaze of Old Glory, Shannon MacCue
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, From the mound to the hill, Drew Cordes
3rd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, On Valentine's Day, more than your heart could be stolen, Ron Bittner
HM, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, For the cruciverbalist in all of us, Staff
ONLINE CONTENT
1st Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, State basketball tournament, Staff
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Stories from World War II, Drew Kerr, Thomas Dimopoulous, Lisa Bramen, Matt Middleton
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Kate on the court, Kate Fagan, Derek Pruitt, TJ Hooker, Nathan Pallace
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT WRITING
1st Place, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, A Rae of sunlight, Wendy Liberatore
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Facing the madness, Lisa Bramen
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Rhythm, Doug Gruse
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM
1st Place, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, Visual arts, Karen Bjornland
2nd Place, The Daily Gazette, Sch'dy, Dance reviews, Wendy Liberatore
3rd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, The ornery hipster, C.E. Skidmore
BLOGGING
1st Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Your right to know, Mark Mahoney
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Getting greener, Wendy Baird
3rd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, The odd couple, Sarah Bradshaw, Chrissie Williams
MULTIMEDIA PACKAGES
1st Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Scary stories, Staff
2nd Place, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, Too many stop signs, Will Doolittle, Nick Reisman, Ally Brisbin, Madeline Farbman
3rd Place, Poughkeepsie Journal, Executive debate, Staff
CIRCULATION 50,000-125,000
SPOT NEWS REPORTING
1st Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Fire takes three lives, Bob Baker, Douglass Dowty, Michele Reaves
2nd Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Cops shoot, kill cop, Rich Liebson, Keith Eddings, Melanie Plenda,
3rd Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, Flash flood, Victor Whitman, Heather Yakin, Simon Shifrin
HM, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, Plane crash kills pilot, Doug Schneider, John Hill, Eric Reinagel
FEATURES
1st Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Car seat, Hart Seely
2nd Place, Times Union, Albany, Fudge lady, Steve Barnes
3rd Place, Times Union, Albany, In a heartbeat, Stephanie Earls
HM, The Journal News, White Plains, A mother's legacy, Heather Salerno
SPORTS
1st Place,Times Union, Albany, Darren Brown's race of a lifetime, Pete Iorizzo
2nd Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, The lost boy of Sudan, Kevin Gleason
3rd Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, The long good-bye, Michael Geffner
HM, The Journal News, White Plains, Jessi-Ann Bettcher, Jake Thomases
SPORTS COLUMN
1st Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Borden columns, Sam Borden
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Bud Poliquin columns, Bud Poliquin
3rd Place, Times Union, Albany, Columns by Brian Ettkin, Brian Ettkin
COLUMNS
1st Place, Times Union, Albany, Columns by Casey Seiler, Casey Seiler
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Columns by Sean, Sean Kirst
3rd Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Phil Reisman columns, Phil Reisman
HM, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Jeff Kramer columns, Jeff Kramer
BUSINESS/FINANCE
1st Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Some guy named Ed, Greg Munno, John O'Brien
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Insurers balk, Jim Mulder
3rd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Off the grid, Tim Knauss
EDITORIALS
1st Place, The Journal News, White Plains, The Ridley shooting, Herb Pinder
2nd Place, Times Union, Albany, Youth violence in Albany, Jim McGrath
3rd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Saundra Smokes
DEPTH REPORTING
1st Place, Times Union, Albany, Albany real estate scheme, Brendan Lyons
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Why are state police so secretive?, John O'Brien
3rd Place, Times Union, Albany, Trading in state treasures, Paul Grondahl
HM, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, The state of youth sports, Kevin Witt, Kevin Gleason, Justin Rodriguez
CONTINUING COVERAGE
1st Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Home front, Dave Tobin, Hart Seely, Mike McAndrew
2nd Place, Times Union, Albany, Albany cops illegally purchase guns, Brendan Lyons
3rd Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Mount Vernon corrupting, Jonathan Randler, Jorge Fitzgibbons
HM, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, Flood of 2006: A year of recovery, Staff
BEAT REPORTING
1st Place, Times Union, Albany, Covering the Capital, James Odata
2nd Place, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, Environmental reporting, Tom Wilber
3rd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Tim Knauss and the business of green, Tim Knauss
HM, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, Coverage of West Point, Alexa James
BRIGHTEST HEADLINE
1st Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, Play it again - Vinyl lives, the CD's not dead, and your local store misses you, Robin Rothman
2nd Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Candles spark marriage proposal, then a fire, Andy Chabra
3rd Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, He's bringing sexy back to the kitchen, Brenda Gilhooly
ONLINE CONTENT
1st Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, Varsity 845, Sports editor Matt Pepin and Sports staff
2nd Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Empire state games, Journal News staff
3rd Place, Times Union, Albany, 518 moms, Tracy Ormsbee, Sarah Diodato
HM, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, First person, Ellen Blalock
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT WRITING
1st Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, The times they have a-changed, Steve Israel
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Backstage pass, Laura Ryan
3rd Place, Times Union, Albany, Music industry's new theme song, Greg Haymes
HM, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Redhouse Theater, Michelle Breidenbach
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM
1st Place, The Journal News, White Plains, Objects, Patterns, Hudson, Georgette Gouveia
2nd Place, The Journal News, White Plains, August, Passing strange, A Catered affair, Jacques LeSourd
3rd Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, Film reviews by Germain Lussier, Germain Lussier
BLOGGING
1st Place, The Journal News, White Plains, LoHud Yankees Blog, Peter Abraham
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Sean Kirst
3rd Place, Times Union, Albany, On the edge, Kristi Gustafson
HM, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Orange football, Donnie Webb
MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE
1st Place, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, I didn't do that murder: Lebrew Jones and the death of Micki Hall, Christine Young, John Pertel
2nd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Turning Stone championship, Chris Wagner, Mike Dupras, Peter Chen
3rd Place, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, Remembering Haiti, Dave Tobin, Dennis Nett, Keith Nave
OVER 125,000 CIRCULATION
SPOT NEWS REPORTING
1st Place, The Buffalo News, Sanchez, Gene Warner, Michael Beebe
2nd Place, The Buffalo News, DeJac, Tom Precious
3rd Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, Fairport Tragedy, Staff
HM, The New York Times, The Spitzer Scandal, The Metropolitan Staff of The New York Times
FEATURES
1st Place, The New York Times, Scars of War, Ellen Barry
2nd Place, The New York Times, Free and Uneasy, Fernanda Santos
3rd Place, The New York Times, Given Reprieve, NFL Star's Dogs Find Kindness, Juliet Macur
HM, The Buffalo News, HIV, Andrew Galarneau, Charity Vogel
SPORTS
1st Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, Eric Byrd, Jeff DiVeronica
2nd Place, New York Post, NY, Bad Ref, Murray Weiss and New York Post Staff
3rd Place, The New York Times, Expectations Lose Out to Reality, Bill Pennington
HM, The New York Times, Victory in Derby, Joe Drape
SPORTS COLUMN
1st Place, The Buffalo News, Jerry Sullivan Columns, Jerry Sullivan
2nd Place, New York Post, NY, New York Post Sports, Mike Vaccaro
3rd Place, The Buffalo News, Allen Wilson Columns, Allen Wilson
COLUMNS
1st Place, The New York Times, Our Towns, Peter Applebome
2nd Place, The Buffalo News, Esmonde, Donn Esmonde
3rd Place, The Buffalo News, Watson, Rod Watson
HM, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, Madness, Mayhem Grow Roots, James Lawrence
BUSINESS/FINANCE
1st Place, Newsday, Melville, North Shore – LIJ, Elizabeth Moore, Tom Incantalupo
2nd Place, Newsday, Melville, The Loan Crisis On Long Island, Newsday Staff
3rd Place, The Buffalo News, Cheap Tickets, Mark Gaughan, David Robinson
EDITORIALS
1st Place, Newsday, Melville, Editorials, Anne Michaud
2nd Place, The Buffalo News, Health Insurance, Kevin Walter
3rd Place, New York Post, NY, An Abuse of Power, New York Post Staff
DEPTH REPORTING
1st Place, The New York Times, A History of Neglect, Leslie Kaufman, Benjamin Weiser
2nd Place, Newsday, Melville, Abuses of the Public Trust, Sandra Peddie, Eden Laikin, John Hildebrand, Robert Kessler
3rd Place, The Buffalo News, Child Pornography, Lou Michel, Susan Schulman, Dan Herbeck
CONTINUING COVERAGE
1st Place, The Buffalo News, McKinley, Mark Sommer, Michael Beebe, Peter Simon
2nd Place, Newsday, Melville, The syringe mass, Newsday Staff
3rd Place, New York Post, NY, Death of Heath Ledger, New York Post Staff
BEAT REPORTING
1st Place, The Buffalo News, Vets, Lou Michel
2nd Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, Town of Greece/Suburban Education, Meaghan McDermott
BRIGHTEST HEADLINE
1st Place, New York Post, NY, Bad Heir Day, Jon Blackwell
2nd Place, Newsday, Melville, Hangin' Out With My Best Buds, Jerry Zezima
3rd Place, The New York Times, A Day to Misremember, Rich Ehrhard
HM, The Buffalo News, A Wind-Win Situation in Bliss, Barbara Sullivan
ONLINE CONTENT
1st Place, Newsday, Melville, The Match, Newsday Staff
2nd Place, Newsday, Melville, Baby Boomers, Walt Handelsman
3rd Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, School District Project, Staff
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT WRITING
1st Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, Film, Grammys, Ellen: Timothy does it all, Jeff Spevak
2nd Place, New York Post, NY, Rock Takes the Role, Mary Huhn
3rd Place, The Buffalo News, Who'll be the next Springsteen?, Jeff Miers
HM, New York Post, NY, Manolo More!, Sara Stewart
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM
1st Place, New York Post, NY, Selected Writings, Michael Riedel
2nd Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, RPO, Stuart Low
3rd Place, The Buffalo News, Hot Rocks, Jeff Miers
BLOGGING
1st Place, Newsday, Melville, Spin Cycle Blog, Newsday Political Writers
2nd Place, New York Post, NY, Joel Sherman's Hardball, Joel Sherman
3rd Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, The Word on Birds, Bob Marcotte
MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE
1st Place, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, Not Forgotten, Will Yurman
2nd Place, The New York Times, NY, Olympics Coverage, Jere Longman, Karen Crouse, John Branch, Lynn Zinser,
3rd Place, The New York Times, NY, On Par, Bill Pennington