BRATTLEBORO — The Commons has won three prizes for reporting and editorial writing in the annual New England Newspaper & Press Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest.
In the biweekly/monthly division, Reporter Olga Peters took top honors in the general news story category for her chronicle of the November 2009 fire that leveled the Putney General Store.
The Commons was preparing to go to press with Peters' front-page profile of Bellows Falls grocer Lonie Lisai, who was preparing to lease the Putney General Store after reconstruction that followed a 2008 fire that had destroyed the historic structure. Until then, the store was the oldest continuously operating one of its kind in the state.
But when the store burned to the ground in another fire, later determined to be arson, Peters spent the next 25 hours writing a new story, creating a comprehensive account of the fire, its aftermath, and the emotional effects on citizens and volunteers of the Putney Historical Society, the nonprofit that had purchased and renovated the iconic building.
Dane Kingsley contributed reporting to the effort, feeding additional information from the site after Peters returned to the office to write the 2,100-word story.
“A terrific effort to report an extraordinary event that no doubt captivated the entire town,” the judges wrote. “Well done - especially considering the last-minute timing.”
Editor Jeff Potter placed third in the same category for his coverage of the Vermont Yankee tritium leak, a story that appeared in the February 2010 issue.
The judges described the entry as “a comprehensive package of articles about a complex issue, including an impressive chronology,” they wrote. “More than you'd typically expect from a paper of this size.”
Potter also won first place for editorial writing, the only prize awarded in the division's category this year.
The three editorials nominated for the category included two on the tritium issue and the subsequent vote in which the state Senate failed to pass the required approval to permit the state Public Service Board to renew the plant's Certificate of Public Good.
A third that complemented a follow-up feature on Larry Pratt, who had been arrested amid racial unrest in Brattleboro and surrounding communities in the early summer days of 2008.
The news feature by Thelma O'Brien and the winning editorial appeared in the October 2009 issue.
“When I write editorials, I like to poke at some nuances and some middle ground,” Potter said. “I like us to have a strong opinion, but I also want our institutional point of view to resonate with anyone reading it, including those who absolutely disagree with our perspective. Our job is to make people think.”
News Editor Randolph T. Holhut, who won two Vermont Press Association awards for his editorial writing for the Brattleboro Reformer, has written most of the editorials published since he joined The Commons staff in June 2010.
The Commons won two awards in 2009 and one in last year's contest, all top honors in general excellence, general news story, and human interest feature story, respectively.
NENPA member newspapers nominate their best work annually. This year's prizes covered material published between August 2009 and July 2010. The Commons published monthly before relaunching as a weekly newspaper in June.
The awards were announced at a banquet following the association's annual convention in Boston last weekend. Potter and Peters attended the event, which followed two days of seminars and other opportunities for professional development and training.
Other Vermont newspapers, including the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus and the Stowe Reporter, won multiple awards.
Vermont Woman, a monthly newspaper published in North Hero and edited by former Bellows Falls resident Margaret Michniewicz, placed second in the biweekly/monthly general excellence category.
Entries are judged by professional volunteers from other press associations to avoid conflicts of interest, said Potter, who has served as a volunteer judge for the Maine Press Association's annual newspaper contest for the past three years.
“When it comes down to it, it's so subjective,” Potter said, pointing out that individual judges approach entries with differing editorial philosophies and priorities.
“These contests can provide some much-needed affirmation to those of us who work in a pressure cooker of a profession, but they are only rough barometers of the job we're doing,” he said.
Community involvement with the newspaper is accelerating, he said, pointing out a recent surge of activity in The Commons' letters column.
The real test is “not the affirmation of our professional colleagues, but the satisfaction and enthusiasm of our readers,” he added.
“That said, it feels fantastic,” Potter said.