The Day recognized for pandemic coverage
The Day has been recognized for its outstanding coverage of the coronavirus pandemic by the New England Newspaper & Press Association.
The media group handed out its annual awards at a virtual conference held Thursday and Friday. The Day received 30 awards, 12 of them for first place.
The Day, competing in the largest circulation category, tied for first place in Best Coverage of Coronavirus with the Waterbury Repub
lican-American. The New Hampshire Union Leader was second and The Hartford Courant placed third.
Peter Huoppi won three first-place awards in the video categories — feature, entertainment and news — as well as a second place in sports and a third in feature.
The staff placed first with a special section on the impact of the newsroom’s coverage in 2019 and first in community involvement for a special section on the Class of 2020 graduation.
The editorial page, edited by Paul Choiniere and designed by Scott Ritter, placed first, as did Choiniere in the editorial writing category. Lisa McGinley was third in editorial writing. Ritter placed third for an illustration he did for the perspective page.
Rick Koster was first place in local personality profile for a feature on cook/restaurant owner Jack Chaplin. Koster and Carlos Virgen won first place for a series of podcast interviews on the role of arts in times of upheaval.
John Ruddy was first place in history reporting for “Bootleggers and rumrunners in the Whaling City.” He also was first in headline writing and third in best front page.
The Day’s website, www. theday.com, was a first-place winner and its mobile site placed second.
Other winners were Sten Spinella, second, local election coverage; Erica Moser, second, newsletter, and third, social issues feature; Kristina Dorsey, third, arts & entertainment writing; Dorsey and Maria Reagan, second, arts & entertainment section; Kimberly Drelich, second, racial or ethnic issue coverage, and third in transportation reporting; Karen Florin, third, racial or ethnic issue coverage, and third in excellence in newsroom collaboration; and Joe Wojtas, second, right to know.