SOUTH PORTLAND, October 30, 2016 – The Bangor Daily News, the Mount Desert Islander of Bar Harbor, The Courier-Gazette of Rockland and the Maine Sunday Telegram have been honored by the Maine Press Association for General Excellence in print newspapers.

The Bangor Daily News and the Boothbay Register took top honors for digital General Excellence in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented Saturday night at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in South Portland, concluding a day of workshops for journalists, advertising staff and newsroom managers throughout the state.

Earlier in the day, the association inducted three new members to its Hall of Fame: Rex Rhoades, former executive editor of the Sun Journal in Lewiston; Steve Solloway, sports columnist for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram for 25 years; and Hugh Bowden, retired editor, editorial and sports writer, and executive editor of The Ellsworth American.

In the General Excellence competition for print newspapers, the Bangor Daily News was judged the best daily in Maine while the Maine Sunday Telegram was the weekend Newspaper of the Year for the sixth time in seven years.

The contest judge wrote of the Bangor Daily News, “This is a great local paper that serves the public with excellence” while declaring the Maine Sunday Telegram, “is a great example of a newspaper that still provides its readers with a mountain of excellent content.”

In the Weekly 1 division, for newspapers with less than 4,000 print circulation, the Mount Desert Islander was described as having “an interesting mix of news; special sections are interesting and filled with local content — a refreshing change from most markets” while the Weekly 2 winner, The Courier-Gazette, was lauded for its “coherent design, good use of color, very newsy” content.

The Mount Desert Islander has been named Newspaper of the Year 10 times since 2006 – six times in the Weekly 1 division and four straight years in Weekly 2 (4,000 and over circulation).

The General Excellence winner for websites among daily/weekend papers, the Bangor Daily News, was cited for having “the most interesting digital offering of all Maine’s papers. BDN’s forays into video complement what is strong and fluid state house coverage that serves its region well.”

Judges praised the weekly division winner, the Boothbay Register, explaining “A small and local publication is going to do best when it foregrounds information that others don’t provide. Local minutiae is what a community audience wants and I was able to find it immediately upon getting to the Register’s site.”

The Mount Desert Islander won the Freedom of Information first-place award in the weekly category, while the Sun Journal took top honors in the daily/weekend division.

Erin Rhoda of the Bangor Daily News was named the Journalist of the Year while Jean Berg of the Portland Press Herald was the Advertising Person of the Year.

Abigail W. Adams of the Lincoln County News won the Bob Drake Young Writer’s Award, and Jeanne Luetjen was honored by the MPA as the Unsung Hero of the Year.

A complete list of 2016 award winners will be posted in the coming week on the MPA’s website: www.mainepressassociation.org

We’re looking forward to seeing MPA members and guests at the MPA Annual Fall Conference on Saturday, October 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland.

MPA Members are welcome to attend the Annual Business Meeting at 8:30 a.m. Come hear about the year’s accomplishments, the financial state of the association, and take part in the election of officers and board members for the coming year.

Morning sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. followed by the Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon at 12:30 p.m., and one afternoon session slated at 2:30 p.m.

The ever-engaging Scholarship Auction & Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner and Banquet.

A full day of events is planned for the MPA Annual Fall Conference on October 29, 2016, at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland, including informative sessions, the Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon, annual Scholarship Auction, and The 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

The day kicks off at 8:30 with the Annual Business Meeting. Morning sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. followed by the Hall of Fame Luncheon at 12:30 p.m., and one afternoon session slated at 2:30 p.m.

The ever-engaging Scholarship Auction & Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner and Banquet.

We’ve negotiated a very attractive hotel rate of $107/night for MPA members and guests at DoubleTree by Hilton Portland, good for the nights of October 28 and 29. The deadline for room reservations at the $107/night rate was October 12; please call the hotel directly at 775-6161 (and ask for the Maine Press Association group rate, using group code MEP) to check on availability after the reservation deadline.

The Conference registration deadline was October 10. For further information about the conference or registration, please check with MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or via phone at 691-0131.

Three journalists whose service to the state’s newspapers totals more than 110 years will enter the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame next month.

Rex Rhoades, Steve Solloway and Hugh Bowden will be inducted Oct. 29 at a luncheon during the MPA’s annual Fall Conference at the DoubleTree hotel in South Portland. The three were nominated by colleagues and selected by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee.

Rhoades retired in April after 19 years as executive editor of the Sun Journal in Lewiston and a total of four decades in journalism. Under his leadership, the Sun Journal was the MPA’s Daily Newspaper of the Year five times and Weekend Newspaper of the Year eight times.

Rhoades was named the MPA’s Journalist of the Year in 1999 and served as its president in 2002-03, leading the association’s push for reforms to the state’s Freedom of Access Act.

Solloway was one of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram’s best-known writers for his 25 years as a sports columnist. He came to Maine in 1975 to be sports editor of the Kennebec Journal for nine years. He joined the Portland newspapers in 1984, reporting and commenting on sports in the Central Maine area for the Maine Sunday Telegram. In 1990, then sports editor Bill Nemitz asked Solloway to write his first sports column.

A true storyteller, Solloway covered many of Maine’s biggest sporting events and personalities over four decades, including the University of Maine’s national hockey championships and the Lawrence High School basketball star Cindy Blodgett.

Bowden retired in August after a career in Down East Maine newspapers that spanned more than 50 years, starting in 1964 at The Weekly Packet in Blue Hill. He filled many roles, as an editor, an editorial and sports writer and a mentor to many journalists who worked with him.

Bowden was executive editor of The Ellsworth American from 1989 to 2015, years when the American won multiple Newspaper of the Year honors from the MPA, and was president of the MPA in 1972-73.

The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors newspaper people with Maine connections who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Its members are on the MPA website, at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/

Tickets to the Hall of Fame luncheon are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or 691-0131.

The Maine Press Association’s Annual Fall Conference will be held this year on October 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland. A full day of conference events is planned including the Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon, annual Scholarship Auction, and The 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

And what about those awards? Judges have been mindful of last week’s deadline for decisions and comments, and have been overwhelming the MPA Office with packages, decisions and wonderful comments. Here’s a snippet of what the judge of Feature Story—Daily Weekend had to say, “This was one of the best categories of a contest which I’ve ever reviewed…. The readers of Maine’s newspapers should be proud to have such commitment to good journalism presented to them by all of these newspapers.”

We hope to have the majority of decisions sorted, reviewed and ready to share with members by mid-September. In the meantime, be on the lookout for registration/hotel reservation information as well as details about this year’s program and sessions.

The Journal Tribune, a daily, multi-award- winning newspaper serving York County for 131 years, has an immediate opening for a full-time Sports Editor. The ideal candidate will have 3 to 5 years’ experience as a writer and/or editor in the Sports department of a daily newspaper; copy editing and pagination experience; strong photography and Photoshop skills; and proficiency producing and editing content for the internet and Facebook. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, managing one full-time sports writer and a stable of freelancers, covering local games and sporting events, performing community outreach with coaches and parents, designing daily sports and news pages, updating journaltribune.com, and posting content to social media. You should be comfortable – and show equal enthusiasm for — covering everything from Little League and high school sports to the OOB Surge and the Boston Red Sox. A thorough knowledge of sports and sports terminology is a must, and a professional demeanor inside and outside the office is essential. To apply, send a cover letter, resume, two sports photography samples, and two sports writing samples (500-1,000 words) to: publisher@journaltribune.com

Staff Reporter: Courier Publications, LLC is hiring a Staff Reporter for The Camden Herald. Duties include reporting local news and taking digital photos. Applicants should have strong writing/communication skills and a willingness to learn. A strong interest in the Knox County, Maine area and a desire to serve the community using established journalistic ethics and practices required. Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred. Job requires some nights, weekends. Access to a reliable vehicle a must. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. Email résumé, cover letter and clips to: Daniel Dunkle, News Director ddunkle@villagesoup.com

Staff Reporter: Courier Publications, LLC is hiring a Staff Reporter for The Courier-Gazette. Duties include reporting local news and taking digital photos. Applicants should have strong writing/communication skills and a willingness to learn. A strong interest in the Knox County, Maine area and a desire to serve the community using established journalistic ethics and practices required. Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred. Job requires some nights, weekends. Access to a reliable vehicle a must. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. Email résumé, cover letter and clips to: Daniel Dunkle, News Director ddunkle@villagesoup.com

Nomination deadlines for the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame, Advertising Person of the Year, and Bob Drake Young Writer’s Award have been extended to Friday, July 29, 2016. The submission period for the Unsung Hero award and Journalist of the Year nominations is now closed.

Individual Awards: ADVERTISING PERSON OF THE YEAR: For an advertising employee whose work has been truly distinguished over the course of a year or years. Candidates may have established unique marketing plans or stood out through other measures such as sales record. Work samples may be included with a nomination letter.

BOB DRAKE YOUNG WRITER’S AWARD: For a full-time staffer of an MPA newspaper with fewer than two years of full-time experience as of July 29, 2016. A letter from the staffer’s supervisor must contain a review of the nominee’s experience and accomplishments. School or college newspaper experience does not count as full-time experience. Entries will be evaluated on writing quality, enterprise, imagination, thoroughness, balance and general reporting. As many as six articles may be submitted.

Note: If the number of entries is insufficient for any individual award, that award may not be given out. In that case, any nominations will be held over for the following year. Please limit supporting statements and documents to 10 pages.

Mail all Individual Award nominations by July 29, 2016, to: Diane Norton, Executive Director, Maine Press Association, P.O. Box 336, Camden, ME 04843

Hall of Fame Awards: Candidates for the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame must be Maine newspaper professionals who have made lasting career contributions to their craft, in or out of the state. Typically, some of each year’s Hall of Fame class is inducted posthumously. Each nomination should be accompanied by supporting materials that will help committee members as they make their decisions. Mail all Hall of Fame Nominations by July 29, 2016, to: Jeff Ham, HOF Committee Chair, 26 Elmwood Road, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107. Hall of Fame nominations can also be emailed to Jeff at jeffham36@gmail.com

For questions about Individual awards or Hall of Fame award nominations, contact MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com. This year’s inductees will be announced in late-August and the 2016 induction ceremony will be held at the MPA Fall Conference on October 29 in South Portland.

It’s now or never. Nominations for the Maine Press Association Individual and Hall of Fame awards must be received no later than Friday, July 15, 2016. Some require mailing while others can be submitted via email. But please don’t delay if you have a deserving person you’d like to see considered for these awards.

Individual Awards

UNSUNG HERO AWARD: For any staff member, in any department, whose contributions to his or her newspaper have been essential but often overlooked. Nominations may include examples of the nominee’s work and letters from supervisors and/or co-workers detailing his or her contributions.

ADVERTISING PERSON OF THE YEAR: For an advertising employee whose work has been truly distinguished over the course of a year or years. Candidates may have established unique marketing plans or stood out through other measures such as sales record. Work samples may be included with a nomination letter.

BOB DRAKE YOUNG WRITER’S AWARD: For a full-time staffer of an MPA newspaper with fewer than two years of full-time experience as of July 15, 2016. A letter from the staffer’s supervisor must contain a review of the nominee’s experience and accomplishments. School or college newspaper experience does not count as full-time experience. Entries will be evaluated on writing quality, enterprise, imagination, thoroughness, balance and general reporting. As many as six articles may be submitted.

JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: For an exceptional news employee whose work has been truly distinguished over the previous year or a period of years. A reasonable number of news clips, photographs or other samples of work must be included with a cover letter from the nominee’s editor or publisher. The nominee must be a staff employee of a member newspaper.

Note: If the number of entries is insufficient for any individual award, that award may not be given out. In that case, any nominations will be held over for the following year. Please limit supporting statements and documents to 10 pages.

Mail all Individual Award nominations by July 15, 2016, to: Diane Norton, Executive Director, Maine Press Association, P.O. Box 336, Camden, ME 04843

Hall of Fame Awards: Candidates for the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame must be Maine newspaper professionals who have made lasting career contributions to their craft, in or out of the state. Typically, some of each year’s Hall of Fame class is inducted posthumously. Each nomination should be accompanied by supporting materials that will help committee members as they make their decisions.

Mail all Hall of Fame Nominations by July 15, 2016, to: Jeff Ham, HOF Committee Chair, 26 Elmwood Road, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107. Hall of Fame nominations can also be emailed to Jeff at jeffham36@gmail.com

For questions about Individual awards or Hall of Fame award nominations, contact MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com. This year’s inductees will be announced in late-August and the 2016 induction ceremony will be held at the MPA Fall Conference on October 29 in South Portland.