Maine papers bring home NENPA honors

Maine weeklies made a great showing Feb. 12 at the New England Newspaper and Press Association awards banquet in Boston. The Ellsworth American won first place in general excellence for class D newspapers, while the Mount Desert Islander won second place general excellence for class B weeklies. The Ellsworth American also won first place in general excellence for advertising. 

Here’s a list of Maine winners:

Arts and entertainment reporting

Portland Phoenix, Portland, third place, weekly class 2.
Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, honorable mention, weekly class 2

Business/economic reporting

Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Coverage of a racial or ethnic issue

Shay Stewart-Bouley, The Portland Phoenix, Portland, third place, weekly class 2

Editorial writing

Mo Mehlsak, The Forecaster, Falmouth, first place, weekly class 2

Editorial cartoon

Joe Marshall, Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, second place, weekly class 1

Spot news story

Earl Brechlin and Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, third place, weekly class 2
Earl Brechlin, Mount Desert Islander, third place, weekly class 1

Editorial page

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

The Forecaster, Falmouth, second place, weekly class 2 

Editorial supplement or special section

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, honorable mention, weekly class 1

Educational reporting

Emily Parkhurst, The Forecaster, Falmouth, first place, weekly class 2
Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, second place, weekly class 2

Government reporting

Randy Billings, The Forecaster, Falmouth, third place, weekly class 2

Health reporting

Deirdre Fulton, The Portland Phoneix, Portland, second place, weekly class 2
Staff, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

History reporting

Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Human interest feature story

Gillian Graham, Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Biddeford, second place, weekly class 2

Humor columnist

Stephen Fay, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Investigative reporting

Steve Mistler, The Forecaster, Falmouth, first place, weekly class 2
Lance Tapley, The Portland Phoenix, Portland, second place, weekly class 2

Serious columnist

James McCarthy, The Times Record, Brunswick, third place, daily class 1

Special issues feature story

Emily Parkhurst, The Forecaster, Falmouth, first place, weekly class 2

Front page

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, second place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, second place, weekly class 2

Living page or section

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Sports page or section

Jay Pinsonnault, The York Weekly, York, first place, weekly class 1
Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, third place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2
York County Coast Star, Kennebunk, second place, weekly class 2

Illustration

Darly Mador, The Times Record, Brunswick, honorable mention, daily class 1
Tina Sullivan, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Infographics

Catherine McKinney, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Design

The York Weekly, York, first place, weekly class 1

Headline writing

The York Weekly, York, first place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Right-to-know

Gillian Graham, Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, first place, weekly class 2
York County Coast Star, Kennebunk, second place, weekly class 2
The Forecaster, Falmouth, third place, weekly class 2

Local election coverage

Robert Levin, Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, third place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, second place, weekly class 2

Special award

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class

Feature photo

Troy Bennett, The Times Record, Brunswick, third place, daily class 1
Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class  2

Personality photo

Troy Bennett, The Times Record, Brunswick, first place, daily class 1
Hugh Bowden, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, second place, weekly class 2

Pictorial photo

Troy Bennett, The Times Record, Brunswick, second place, daily class 1

Sports photo

Jeff Walls, Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, third place, weekly class 1

Spot news photo

Dean Kotula, The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Video

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, honorable mention, combined weekly class

News presentation

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class

Overall newspaper website

Sun Journal, Lewiston, first place, daily class 2
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, combined weekly class

Advertising campaign

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Self/circulation promotion 

Kennebec Journal, Augusta, first place, daily class
Morning Sentinel, Waterville, second place, daily class
Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1
Boothbay Register, Boothbay Harbor, third place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Local ad (black and white)

Boothbay Register, Boothbay Harbor, first place, weekly class 1
Mount Desert Islander, second place, weekly class 1

Local ad (color)

Morning Sentinel, Waterville, first place, daily class 1
Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, second place, weekly class 1

Events

Morning Sentinel, Waterville, second place, daily class 1
Boothbay Register, first place, combined weekly/monthly class

Sponsorship page

Kennebec Journal, Augusta, first place, daily class 1

Newspapers in Education

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Automotive display ad

Morning Sentinel, Waterville, second place, daily class
Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Real estate ad

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Classified house ad

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

Advertising supplement

Morning Sentinel, Waterville, second place, daily class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, second place, weekly class 2

Media kit

Boothbay Register, first place, weekly class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class 2

New business innovation

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class

Best idea for generating ad sales

Kennebec Journal, Augusta, second place, daily class 1
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, first place, weekly class 1 

Niche publication

The Portland Phoenix, Portland, second place, weekly class 2
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, third place, weekly class 2

General excellence

Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor, second place, weekly class B
The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class D

Advertising general excellence

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, first place, weekly class