Call, Times staffers bring home RIPA awards
Papers recognized in 14 different categories, including 4 first-place nods
NORTH KINGSTOWN — Eight staff The Call The Times members with and on Friday night earned a total of 14 awards, including four first-place finishes, at the annual Rhode Island Press Association awards banquet.
Among the first-place finishers were reporter Joseph Fitzgerald, who took the top prize for a religious or spiritual story for “Faith Lit the Way,” on the National Shrine of Our Lady La Salette in Attleboro.
A judge said that Fitzgerald’s story “highlights what is clearly a beloved tradition by making it vivid and human. I love the frame with Madeline Oliveria – it brings immediate emotion to the story, and ends it on a beautiful note. Great sourcing and quotes throughout, and an interesting mix of historical background and looking to the future. The scene-setting paragraphs are excellent, and the story has great narrative shape overall.”
Also finishing atop his category was sports reporter Brendan McGair, who claimed first place for sports story for “A Cautionary Tale,” a piece on Mount Saint Charles Academy graduate and former National Hockey League star Bryan Berard, whose millions were squandered by a longtime financial adviser. McGair also earned third place for sports columnist and honorable mention for best sports front page for “It's About Everyone.”
Photographer Ernest A. Brown won first place for feature photo, for “The Beer Necessities,” a picture of a man sipping a
beer while his girlfriend's image is reflected in the mirrored sunglasses he was wearing.
“Nice use of reflection by the photographer,” a judge said of Brown’s photo.
Associate Editor Danny Crandall also finished atop his nominated category, as he took home first place for newspaper front page for “Encapsulating a Lifetime of Memories,” which accompanied a story about a Woonsocket High School graduate who penned the book “The Last Cherry Blossom,” about her mother's youth and the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Japan.
Crandall also won third place in best feature front page for a Time Out section “Underneath it All,” while editor Seth Bromley garnered third place for headline writing.
Reporter Erica Moser earned two second-place finishes – one for investigative/analytical news story for “Broken Tail leaves a trail of broken hearts” on Lincoln's Broken Tail animal shelter and the troubles and fines associated with it, the other for notable new reporter of the year.
Of Moser and her fellow award winners in the notable new reporter category, a judge commented: “A talented crew of young reporters showcasing poise, breadth and depth. RIPA well-served with this lot of new arrivals. A welcome reminder that journalism still attracts.”
Reporter Jonathan Bissonnette also earned a second-place finish for short fea- ture story for “Hero Comes Home,” on Pawtucket native U.S. Army Capt. Elwood Joseph Euart, whose body was returned home to be buried aside his parents 73 years after he perished off the coast of Australia.
Reporter Russ Olivo won three honorable mention awards – short news story for “Who Killed Constance?” on the police investigation of the murder of Woonsocket resi- dent Constance Gauthier, profile or personality story for “When There's No Place To Go” on the challenges facing homeless residents in Pawtucket, and arts review or criticism for “One Vault, Millions in Mob Money, and a Woonsocket Thief at the Wheel,” on Bonded Vault robber Mitch Lanoue.