The Villager wins 7 NYPA contest awards
With spot-on news coverage and editorials, as
well as stunning photography and design, The
Villager took home honors in a wide range of
categories in the New York Press Association’s Better
Newspaper Contest.
All told, The Villager won seven awards — including
two for fi rst place — in the competition, which covered
work done during 2018. The paper shares content with
Chelsea Now, Downtown Express and Manhattan Express.
The winners were announced this past weekend at
NYPA’s annual spring convention in Albany.
The Villager’s Tequila Minsky won fi rst place for Best
News or Feature Series for her ongoing coverage of immigrant
rights activist Ravi Ragbir and the struggle, in
general, to protect immigrants from deportation. Ragbir,
who is fi ghting his own deportation, is a leader of the New
Sanctuary Coalition, which is based out of the Village’s
Judson Church. Minsky, a “two-way” reporter, also took
the photos for the series.
“The topic is pertinent to what is happening in our
country,” the judge for this category wrote in his or her
comments. “It was a good way of taking a national topic
and making it local, even though it was clearly a big story
for the local community and beyond. The photos add a lot
of emotion to the story and they’re fantastic.”
Bob Krasner took fi rst place for Picture Story for his
photos of the Tompkins Square Riots Anniversary Concert.
One of the shots was of young punks gleefully burning
an American fl ag with a cigarette
lighter.
“The photographer captures
the energy of the event and
doesn’t shy away from
controversial subject
matter,” the judge for
this category wrote.
“The viewer feels
they are getting
a front row experience
to the
event. The photographer
had 3
submissions in
this category, he
has a distinctive
style that is recognizable
in each. This
one was my favorite of
his submissions.”
The layout for Krasner’s
photos was done by Marcos
Ramos, one of The Villager’s
graphic designers.
Veteran scribe Mary Reinholz snagged second place
for News Story for her article about TV news icon Tom
Brokaw making an unwanted sexual advance on her
when they were young reporters in Los Angeles in the
1960s. The married Brokaw, after helping Reinholz obtain
a hard-to-get police report, suddenly made a move on
her at her Laurel Canyon cottage, Reinholz wrote. With
the publication of The Villager article, Reinholz became
known as the “third woman” to accuse Brokaw of unwanted
sexual advances. The article went viral. She said
she only wrote her piece because she was irked by Brokaw
casting aspersions on his fi rst accuser, newswoman Linda
Vester.
“The fi rst-person account was told almost dispassionately,
in fi ne journalistic style, but still created the proper
disgust at the subject matter,” the judge for these entries
commented. “The story came in support of those who
needed it and contributed to a national narrative.”
In a bread-and-butter category for community newspapers,
The Villager took second place for Coverage of
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER, TOP, AND CLAYTON PATTERSON, BOTTOM
One of The Villager’s winning entries for Best
Front Page.
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Then-Councilmember Jumaane
Williams getting arrested at
Federal Plaza in protest of
Ravi Ragbir’s detention last
year.
Local Government. Articles
for this entry included four
by the paper’s editor in chief,
Lincoln Anderson, including
one on the fl ap over senior
activist Tom Connor’s abrupt
removal from the Community
Board 2 State Liquor
Authority Committee after
complaining he was allegedly
“threatened” by the committee’s
chairperson, another on the
de Blasio administration’s
push to termlimit
community
board members, and
two articles about the City
Council considering the
Small Business Jobs Survival
Act, plus a piece by
Villager reporter Sydney
Pereira on new “Nightlife
Mayor” Ariel Palitz.
The judge for this
category particularly
liked Anderson’s indepth
report on what
could be called “Connorgate,”
headlined, “Alcohol
problem: C.B. 2 committee
in ‘bar brawl.’”
“Extremely well done coverage
of what appears to be a soap
opera in the local government,” this
judge wrote. “The writer was not afraid to
add length to get all the facts to the reader.”
In another staple category for community news, The
Villager won honorable mention for Coverage of Education.
Articles for this entry included two by Anderson, on
a mass protest by Asian-American parents and activists
over the de Blasio administration’s plan to scrap the Specialized
High School Admission Test, plus the ribbon-cutting
for the new middle school at 75 Morton St.; an article
by Pereira on the special-education school that shares the
75 Morton St. building; one by Villager reporter Gabe
Herman on accusations that L.R.E.I. segregated middleschool
students of color for some classes; and another by
reporter Colin Mixson on the fi ght to delay P.S. 150 from
vacating its Tribeca building for several years.
The judge in this category, however, seemed a bit fi xated
on the S.H.S.A.T. article starting out by quoting parents
chanting, “Keep the test! Vote them out!”
“Quotes should only be used as ledes if the quote is, ‘
“I’m back,’ said Jesus.’ … Reporting is strong, great topics
chosen,” the judge wrote.
Anderson also won third place for Editorials. The entry
included three editorials, including one blasting state
Senate Republicans for letting the school speed-cameras
program lapse, another urging voters to reject the ballot
proposal to term-limit community board members, and
a third editorial, calling for the new chairperson of the
city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to be someone
with a solid preservation background who would not
roll over for developers.
The Editorials judge commented, approvingly, “Strong
writer and stronger arguments.”
Finally, The Villager also won an honorable mention
for Best Front Page. The three front pages submitted were
designed by Ramos. On two of them the main photo was
by Krasner and on the other it was by Milo Hess.
“Front page photos are amazing,” the judge enthused,
“love how the artwork pops,” though adding, “but maybe
a bit more white space around headers.”
A total of 163 newspapers submitted 2,743 entries for
NYPA’s 2018 Better Newspaper Contest. The entries
were judged this time by members of the Wisconsin Press
Association.
The Villager fi nished with a total of 67 points in editorial
categories, good enough to rank 12th among newspapers
in New York State.
Over all, Schneps Media, The Villager’s parent company,
won eight fi rst-place awards and scored the most
editorial points of any New York City-based chain, with
265 points. Among other Schneps publications, Gay City
News won fi rst place for Best Front Page, Obituaries and
Best Column; Queens Courier won fi rst place
for Spot News Coverage; Long Island
Press won fi rst place for Coverage
of Community Government;
and Bay News and Brooklyn
Graphic won First Place for
Best News or Feature Story
(Division 2);
The winner of this
year’s Stuart C. Dorman
Award for Editorial Excellence
— scoring the
most editorial points
— was the Suffolk
Times. Long Island papers
have come on strong
in recent years, having
won the Dorman Award 12
of the last 13 years.
For a view of all the contest
winners, visit https://rfenstererc86b.
myportfolio.com/.
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
Feeling the burn at the park riots concert.
Schneps Media TVG April 11, 2019 15
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