By: Angela Marshall
Papers net 12 awards, including six firsts, from better newspaper contest
It was a banner weekend and a banner year for the Herald as the community newspaper group heard its name called 12 times at awards ceremonies in Albany last weekend in the New York Press Association 2000 Better Newspaper Contest for journalism excellence.
Among the awards the Herald carted home were six first-place honors, for community leadership, crime coverage, in-depth reporting, obituary writing, environmental coverage and advertising.
The Herald papers placed sixth among newspaper groups statewide, winning more awards than all other Nassau County newspapers combined.
Some 174 newspapers submitted 3,211 entries to the annual Better Newspaper Contest.
Community leadership lauded
The Bellmore Herald won first place for Community Leadership for an 11-part series examining the devastating effects of Nassau County cuts to social-service agencies.
Senior editor Scott Brinton wrote all but two of the stories in the series, which looked in depth at North Merrick's Tempo Group and Bellmore's Long Island Crisis Center. Robert Remler, Valley Stream Herald reporter, and Richard Marino, former Bellmore Herald reporter, contributed a story each.
The series, which also ran in its entirety in the Merrick Herald, was accompanied by eight editorials, which Brinton, former executive editor Alfred Doblin and former editor David Vieser wrote.
Judges said of the Herald's effort: "Aggressive reporting and followup. Commentary resulted in real positive change."
Brinton, senior editor of the Bellmore, East Meadow and Merrick Heralds, was also recognized for a series of articles and editorials about the 2000 election, taking honorable mention for Coverage of Elections/Politics.
Articles included coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate, Assembly and Hempstead Town Council races. Editorials addressed the town race and cutbacks to Tempo Group.
Judges wrote, "The quality of writing stood out. Brinton in particular is a talent whose ledes jump off the page."
Nassau Herald editor Jeff Lipton contributed a story about the Fourth Congressional District race.
Crime coverage gets top honor
The Nassau Herald took home first place for Coverage of Crime/Police/Courts. Lipton wrote all stories, which included a piece about a Hewlett High School player who was arrested for assault during a game against the Pirates at Mepham High School in North Bellmore. The story ran on the front page of the Merrick and Bellmore Heralds. Charges against the student were dropped.
Lipton also wrote about a con man who hit up Lawrence residents for contributions to a phony AIDS walk and a standoff outside a Cedarhurst home.
Judges said, "Solid, thorough reporting on criminal activity -- writing about violent crime without sensationalizing."
The Nassau Herald was also awarded second place for its 75th anniversary issue in the Historical or Anniversary Editions category. Keith Grant, now the Long Beach Herald editor, wrote the bulk of the material.
"Reproducing details of past issues (instead of just reproducing the front page) make this issue," judges said. "I'm sure readers enjoyed the 'bathing suits half off' ad as well as other tidbits."
Nassau Herald reporter Rebecca Shalomoff earned second place as Rookie Reporter of the Year, after being on the job for only three months. Rebecca, a May 2000 graduate of Columbia University, started with the Herald in October.
Shalomoff's coverage of schools and news, as well as her features and profiles of people living in the Five Towns, impressed the judges. "Shalomoff has a great flair for feature writing. Her ledes are creative, entertaining and well thought out," they said.
Alfred Doblin, former Herald executive editor who continues as a weekly op-ed columnist, earned second place for Best Humor Column. Judges said, "Alfred Doblin starts his column off well and finishes even better."
Long Beach takes 2 firsts
The Long Beach Herald received two first-place awards this year.
The awards ceremony started on the right foot for the Herald staff when it was announced that the Long Beach Herald took first place for Coverage of the Environment, which included a look at the Army Corps plan for beach erosion on Long Island.
Judges said, "[Dennis] Devine's look at environment issues has a nice balance of economics, lifestyle, health and human impacts. Also finds the effect on human beings. Puts environmental issues in balanced perspective."
Former Long Beach Herald editor Devine also took first place for Best Obituaries. During his time at the Herald, Devine felt privileged to write a final tribute to Long Beach citizens. Included in the award-winning obituaries was one on Hannah Komanoff, a political pioneer in Nassau County who played a key role in shaping the modern City of Long Beach. She was the only female member of the County Board of Supervisors, serving from 1974-85.
Honors for Rockville Centre
Esther McKenna, former editor of the Rockville Centre Herald and continuing free-lance writer for the Merrick Herald, received third place for obituary writing, including her pieces on former Rockville Centre spokesman Jim Heaney and Cardinal John O'Connor.
Rockville Centre was also a first-place winner for In-depth Reporting. Angela Marshall, Rockville Centre and Baldwin Heralds editor, and Christine Pearsall, a former intern, were honored for their story on the dangers of aging oil tanks leaking underground.
Judges said, "This article goes to show that even in-depth reporting quality is more important than quantity. The reporters covered an interesting and important topic and made it easy to understand."
Ads take awards
The Herald advertising department also won two awards. Nassau Herald account executive Joan Battino earned first place in Best Small Space Ad. Judges praised Battino for her work on Begonias in Woodmere.
The entire department received second place in Best Multi-Advertiser Pages for their use of an American flag for the Fourth of July.
Judges said, "Great concept. Excellent way to organize advertisers in support of national holiday."
The Herald philosophy
Herald publisher Cliff Richner said after last weekend's press association conference: "It's always nice to be recognized for good work. I think the rewards are a reflection of the Herald's philosophy regarding local coverage.
"We feel that what happens within a local community is the most important news to the people who live there - and we treat that news importantly. At the Herald, we focus on the local issues that have the greatest impact on our readers' daily lives. I think it's this overall philosophy that the judges recognized.
"I'm particularly proud of the well-deserved recognition received by editors Scott Brinton, Jeff Lipton, Angela Marshall and Denis Devine. They each work very hard at what they do, and it shows.
"I also congratulate our Rookie of the Year, Rebecca Shalomoff, on a great start to what promises to be a brilliant career in journalism," the publisher concluded.
Gary Schwartz, the group's executive editor, said, "When I joined the Herald at the end of September, I knew there was something special about it. Now I know what that is. These papers are staffed by journalists who are true professionals, people who are dedicated to much more than just producing newspapers each week. They work to produce newspapers that matter, that make a difference in people's lives."
