Newsday wins eight 1st-place awards in NY News Publishers Association contest
Newsday took first place in eight categories in the 75,000-and-over circulation class in the New York News Publishers Association contest for 2021, it was announced Thursday.
Groundbreaking reporting on the Grumman plume led to a win for Paul LaRocco, David M. Schwartz and Jeffrey Basinger for Distinguished Investigative Reporting, and to the trio and Newsday staff for Distinguished Community Service.
Mark Harrington won for Distinguished Beat Reporting for his coverage of PSEG; James T. Madore won for Distinguished Business Reporting for reporting on problems with the Paycheck Protection Program, Washington's flagship COVID-19 relief initiative; and Ed Amantia and Hillary Raskin won for Distinguished Page Design/Presentation.
Barbara Barker won for Distinguished Sports Column Writing; Jim Baumbach and Laura Albanese for Distinguished Sports Writing; and Tim Healey for Distinguished Live Sports Coverage.
Page design winners Amantia and Raskin were recognized for their LI Life work about a new exhibit on the history of slavery on Long Island.
Barker's submission included columns on the death of Kobe Bryant; his widow Vanessa; the hiring of Kim Ng as general manager of the Miami Marlins baseball team breaking the glass ceiling for both women and Asian Americans; former NBA commissioner David Stern; and Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka.
The winning entry by Baumbach and Albanese was for reporting on the financial impact of the pandemic on the Yankees and Mets, while Healey won for his coverage of the strange opt-out by former Mets star Yoenis Cespedes.
"It is gratifying to be recognized with eight first-place awards by the New York Publishers Association," said Deborah Henley, editor of Newsday. "Congratulations to our colleagues for their awards for an environmental watchdog project, COVID-19 relief coverage, revelations of utility missteps during Isaias, evocative sports writing and compelling presentation."
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
