NJ Advance Media wins General Excellence at NJPAs, 102 awards in total

NJ Advance Media / The Star-Ledger won the general excellence award in the 2021 New Jersey Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, the association announced at its annual awards ceremony on Thursday evening. This was the first in-person awards ceremony for the NJPA since 2019.

The honor marked the ninth time in the past 12 years The Star-Ledger won the general excellence prize. Journalists at NJ Advance Media provide the majority of the locally produced content for The Star-Ledger, NJ.com and other affiliated papers.

In addition, NJ Advance Media also took home a total of 102 awards in various editorial, advertising and photography categories. In the journalism contest, The Star-Ledger racked up 20 first-place prizes, its largest first-place haul since 2015.

For the journalism competition, the Star-Ledger competes in the larger circulation division. In the smaller circulation division, its sister publications, lehighvalleylive.com / Easton Express-Times and the South Jersey Times, earned 7 first-place prizes and 1 first-place prize, respectively. Lehighvalleylive.com / Easton Express-Times also tied for the general excellence award in its division with The Jersey Journal.

“In a year of tremendous uncertainty, as many of our staffers were still working remotely and dealing with the ongoing challenges wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, our journalism didn’t skip a beat,” said Christopher Kelly, the organization’s interim lead editor. “I’m inordinately proud of our entire staff, and the versatility, depth and originality displayed in this year’s winners.”

Among the top honors, Rebecca Everett received first-place in the Enterprise Reporting category for “Father Wants Us Dead,” her nearly 15,000-word revisiting of the John List murders, one of the most ambitious narratives the organization has published in years. Everett, along with photographer and videographer Andre Malok and designers Dusty Altena and Andrea Levy won the Special Print Issue category for the List project.

Meanwhile, three staffers earned individual double-wins: Ted Sherman, who won Best Online Project for “When the Rains Came,” a searing look at New Jersey’s response to Hurricane Ida, and in the Specialty Writing portfolio; Andre Malok, who won the Best Video and Best Video Series categories; and columnist Steve Politi, who won the Sports Column and Sports Writing Portfolios. (Politi’s work with James Kratch and Keith Sargeant on the “Rutgers Rant” podcast also earned first place in the Audio category).

A number of the organization’s online projects were also recognized with first-place wins, including “The Great Boat Lift of 9/11,” by Brittney Davies, Matthew Stanmyre and Joe Atmonavage in the Best Web Event category; and “Jersey Shore Madness” by Pete Genovese and John Shabe in the Social Media category.

The NJ Advance Media also won the General Excellence Award in the Advertising contest. NJ Advance Media’s advertising and creative team won 29 NJPA awards for creative excellence including 12 first place awards, a sweep of first, second and third places in 4 categories, and winning two places in an additional 5 categories. This is the biggest win of total awards and first place awards since 2016. The Advertising competition includes traditional print and online advertising as well as special topic sections such as our first-place health-focused effort “Alzheimer’s Disease: Finding Hope and Help.”

“This recognition represents the immense talent and dedication our advertising team devotes to providing our clients high-quality design and effective brand messaging across print and digital channels and more,” said Michele Hayes, vice president of marketing. “Many skills combine from sales, direct marketing, and creative to bring client marketing messages to life and help their businesses grow. We’re very proud of our team and the stellar work they do.”

The Star-Ledger and NJ.com awards won at 2021 NJPAs:

First place:

Enterprise Reporting – Rebecca Everett – “Father Wants Us Dead”

News Writing Portfolio – Spencer Kent

Business & Government Writing Portfolio – Sue Livio

Specialty Writing Portfolio – Ted Sherman

Lifestyle and Entertainment Writing Portfolio – Bobby Olivier

Local News Coverage – Staff

Sports Writing Portfolio – Steve Politi

Sports Column – Steve Politi

Local Sports Coverage – High School Sports Staff

Best Web Project – Ted Sherman – “When the Rains Came”

Best Audio – Steve Politi, Keith Sargeant, James Kratch – “Rutgers Rant”

Best Video – Andre Malok – “Raw honey is all the buzz at Zach & Zo’s Sweet Bee Farm in Hunterdon County”

Best Web Event* — Brittney Davies, Joe Atmonavage, Matthew Stanmyre — “The great boat lift of 9/11

Best Use of Social Media – Pete Genovese, John Shabe – “Jersey Shore Madness

Best Video Series* – Andre Malok “You’ve Never Seen New Jersey Like This”

Sports Action Photo – Chris Faytok

Sports Feature Picture Story – Aristide Economopoulos – “Friday Night Fights” –

Special Print Issue –Rebecca Everett, Andre Malok, Dusty Altena, Andrea Levy – “The long shadow of John List”

Feature Section Page Design Portfolio – Sean McKeown-Young

Headlines – Phil Cornell

Second place:

Public Service – Lloyd P. Burns Memorial Award – S.P. Sullivan, Joe Atmonavage, Blake Nelson, Ted Sherman – “Abuse at New Jersey’s Prison for Women”

Breaking News – Staff – Ida leaves death, destruction

Sports Column – Jerry Izenberg

Best Web Project – Matt Stanmyre and Staff – A pickle(ball) in paradise

Online Breaking News – Staff – Election 2021: N.J. governor’s race too close to call

Best Web Event – Jonathan D. Salant, Mel Ibarra – “Star Trek vs. Star Wars: N.J. politicos debate”

Best Video Portfolio – Andre Malok

Best Video Series – Dwayne Uzoaru, Jeremy Schneider, Mel Ibarra, NJ All Day

Spot News Photo – Aristide Economopoulos

COVID-19 Photo – Ed Murray

Sports Feature Photo – Chris Faytok

Third place:

Enterprise Reporting – Steve Politi – “The Predator in Plain Sight”

First Amendment – Art Weissman Memorial Award – Matthew Stanmyre, Steve Strunsky – Hazing allegations at Wall High School football program

General Coronavirus/COVID-19 Coverage – Staff

Feature- Lifestyle and Entertainment Writing Portfolio – Keith Sargeant

Best Web Event – Peter Genovese – The greatest thing about every single town in N.J.

Best Use of Social Media – Libby Cardone, Alyssa Passeggio, Amy Z. Quinn, John Shabe – Ida storm coverage

Best Video Series – Andre Malok, Natalie Paterson, Mel Ibarra, “N.J. Takeout Stakeout”

Sports Page Design Portfolio- James Green

Lehigh Valley Live / Easton Express-Times:

First place:

Sports Column – Brad Wilson – Reporting and Writing – Sports Column

General Coronavirus/COVID-19 Coverage – Staff

Editorial Comment – Nick Falsone

Enterprise Reporting – Rudy Miller – “The Rise of Neston Heights”

News Writing Portfolio – Kurt Bresswein

Specialty Writing Portfolio – Steve Novak – environmental writing portfolio

Online Breaking News – Staff – Easton school bus crash

Second place:

News Picture Story – Saed Hindash

Scholastic Sports Writing Portfolio – Desmond Boyle

Business & Government Writing Portfolio – Pamela Sroka-Holzmann

Best Headlines – James Moening

News/Business Page Design Portfolio – James Moening

Enterprise Reporting – Rudy Miller – “How a ‘powerhouse’ reached brink of collapse”

Breaking News – Staff – Easton school bus crash

Local News Coverage – Staff

Specialty Writing Portfolio – Sarah Cassi – Transportation writing portfolio

Feature- Lifestyle and Entertainment Writing Portfolio – Sarah Cassi

Best Video – Saed Hindash – “Easton cyclist Bill Elliston is ready to race in the Easton Twilight Criterium bike Race”

Third place:

Best Video – Saed Hindash – “Glendon Hotel demolition brings back bittersweet memories”

Sports Writing Portfolio – Kyle Craig

Feature- Lifestyle and Entertainment Writing Portfolio – Connor Lagore

Best photo portfolio – Saed Hindash

South Jersey Times:

First place:

News Picture Story – Dave Hernandez

Second place:

Pictorial – Lori M. Nichols

Best Portfolio – Tim Hawk

Sports Action – Lori M. Nichols

Feature Photo – Tim Hawk

Editorial Comment – Elliot Goldberg

Third place:

Feature Photo – Lori M. Nichols

Feature Picture Story – Tim Hawk

Sports Action Photo – Al Amrhein

Advertising Awards:

The Star-Ledger:

First Place:

Best Real Estate Ad – Melissa Chin, Robert King

Best Home & Garden Ad, Color or Black & White – Alaa Selim, Joseph Miles

Best Newspaper Promotion or House Ad – Robert Morgia, Jacquelyn Gawron

Best External Promotion Piece or Media Kit – Robert Morgia, Michele Hayes

Best Special Topic Pages – Angela Perilla, Healthcare Marketing Team

Best Large Space Ad, Color – Melissa Chin, Dawn Apisa

Best Ad in a Niche Publication/Magazine – Melissa Chin, Robert Reggio

Second Place:

Best Home & Garden Ad- Color or Black & White – Alaa Selim, Timothy Drummond, Marva Allen

Best Special Topic Page(s) – Robert Morgia, Jacquelyn Gawron

Best Healthcare Ad – Alaa Selim, Ann Marie Rella

Best Ad in a Niche Publication/Magazine – Robert Morgia, Carmela Giardina

Third Place:

Best External Promotion Piece or Media Kit – Robert Morgia, Michele Hayes

Best Special Section – Melissa Chin, Colette Doudin

Best Ad in a Niche Publication/Magazine – Robert Morgia, Ron Ostroff

NJ.com:

Best in Show – Alaa Selim

First Place:

Best Digital Standard Unit Ad – Alaa Selim, Anthony Cepiel

Best Digital Impact Ad – Melissa Chin, Ann Marie Rella, David Martel

Best Rich Media Creative – Alaa Selim, Robert King

Best Digital House Ad – Alaa Selim

Second Place:

Best Digital Standard Unit Ad – Melissa Chin, Debra Saii, Anthony Cepiel

Best Digital Impact Ad – Melissa Chin, Stacy Koss

Best Rich Media Creative – Melissa Chin, David Martel, Jacquelyn Gawron

Third Place:

Best Digital Standard Unit Ad – Alaa Selim, Robert King

Best Digital Impact Ad – Alaa Selim, Al Woolfolk

Best Rich Media Creative – Alaa Selim, Samantha Rudin

Best Digital House Ad – Robert Morgia

The Times of Trenton:

Second Place:

Best Newspaper Promotion or House Ad – Angela Perilla

The Express-Times:

First Place:

Best Ad for Retail Business – Angela Perilla, Michele Hayes, Brett Prieskorn

Hunterdon County Democrat:

Third Place:

Best Special Section Cover – Alaa Selim