Posted Mar. 14, 2008
BOSTON (March 14, 2008) -- Eight newspapers received Publick Occurrences Awards for outstanding reporting during the annual spring publishers conference of the New England Newspaper Association at the Marriott Long Wharf.
Entries can be anything the newspaper believes represents its best work from the previous year. The Publick Occurrences Awards are judged by Nieman Fellows at Harvard University.
The papers receiving the Publick Occurrences Awards were:
-- The weekly Forecaster of Maine for its coverage of the South Portland City Council.
The judges said of the Forecaster's entry:
“Strong series including dogged beat coverage and public records requests…this kind of relentless accountability reporting seems perfectly in tune with the legacy of Publick Occurrences.”
-- The Enterprise of Brockton for “What’s Killing Our Children."
The judges said of Brockton's entry: “If this were a winner-takes-all category, this entry would be the obvious choice. The Enterprise’s investigation combines strong investigative work with well-written narrative, designed well to tell of a community’s drug crisis. …”
-- The Sun Journal of Lewiston for “How long did it take your school to respond.”
The judges said of Lewiston's entry: “An example of good watch dog reporting: aggressive reporters test school security and, in the end, make students safer …”
-- The Day of New London for “Predatory Lending.”
The judges said of New London's entry: “Strong probe of local subprime lending scandal gives face to victims and leads to state action. There’s a certain fearlessness about the writing: calling a crime a crime from the outset. Good for The Day, which was far ahead of most other newsrooms in tackling this part of the big story of 2007.”
-- The Cape Cod Times of Hyannis for its casino series, “The State’s Big Bet.”
The judges said of the Cape Cod entry: “Detailed explanatory reporting about one of Massachusetts’ biggest political debates… the Times followed the story into the murk of tribal politics and enrollment shenanigans. Readers heard enough from all sides to make informed decisions about the trade-offs.”
-- The Rutland Herald for “Vermont’s changing seasons.”
The judges said of Rutland's entry: “Many small papers have tried (and failed) to localize global warming. This series, built around interesting portraits, tells the real news, which is what individual Vermonters are doing to document and/or slow climate change. This was a great decision, making the topic approachable to a much wider audience.”
-- The Newburyport Daily News for “A port in progress.”
The judges said of Newburyport's entry: “This small paper details how one city fights urban renewal and wins…great example of the way careful presentation strengthens the story…one of those potentially-dull, but important, issues that many newsrooms shy away from.”
-- The Kennebec Journal of Augusta, Maine, “For I was Hungry.”
The judges said of Augusta's entry: “This series of well-reported editorials was a good example of a small newspaper playing to its strengths with an unconventional series. When you’ve got a strong journalist on the Opinions page, let ‘er rip!
"No one’s in favor of hunger … but what ultimately won the judges over was the thorough reporting, the smart decision to attach the story to real faces and the paper’s willingness to engage readers’ concerns (she spends her dole money on smokes!) and get answers even from folks we too often place in the role of blameless victims.”
The Publick Occurrences Awards were established in 1991 by the NENA Awards Committee to mark the 300th anniversary of Publick Occurrences Both Foreign
and Domestick, the first newspaper published in the United States. The paper was suppressed by the royal governor in Boston after only one issue.
Nevertheless, Publick Occurrences established the spirit of courage and independence that has become traditional in American journalism. Publick Occurrences awards are given each year based on work performed in the spirit of the nation's first newspaper.
For further information:
George Geers, gnews@empire.net
(603) 785-4811
Morley L. Piper
New England Newspaper Association
70 Washington St.
Salem, MA 01970
(978) 744-8940
