From Our Editor: Westmore News recognized for its coverage of government
July 10, 2024 at 11:45 p.m.
No matter what field you’re in, even local government, conventions are a highlight of the year. Besides being a learning experience, both through seminars and just catching up with and commiserating with other people in your industry about common problems, goals and solutions, they are meant to be fun and rewarding. That was the case when four members of our staff attended the New York Press Association Spring Conference Apr. 26 and 27 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs.
It’s also the conference where the results of the NYPA’s Better Newspaper Contest are announced, always a source of anxiety and anticipation. For this year’s contest, 142 newspapers submitted 2,530 entries in 65 categories. Three hundred seventy-nine awards were presented at the conference. While we’ve won as many as 12 awards in one year for editorial, photographic, advertising and design excellence, this year we only snagged one for our work during the 2023 calendar year. But it was a big one.
As I’ve said in the past, covering local government and education is the bread and butter of any local newspaper, so I was thrilled to receive the first-place plaque for Coverage of Local Government in our circulation category. While I wrote most of the stories submitted for judging by the Tennessee Press Association, I shared the award with former reporter Jeremiah Hassel who covered a well-attended public hearing and delved deeply into the subject to produce “Proposed leaf blower ban sparks controversy, community outrage” in the Mar. 3 issue of the Rye Brook Westmore News.
Reporter David Tapia, Assistant Editor Sarah Wolpoff and Editor Jananne Abel show off the caricatures that were created of them by an artist at the New York Press Association Spring Conference at the Gideon Putnam Hotel on Apr. 26.By Richard Abel
The controversy swirling around the Village of Port Chester’s form-based code and the rush of development it has created have provided an array of source material for interesting articles. Among those stories in the package submitted for judging included “Proposed zoning changes lead to call for moratorium,” “Still no resolution on commercial parking ban,” “Village threatened with lawsuit seeking $90 million in damages: 28-34 Pearl St. property owners claim change of zoning from 12 to 3 stories targets them” and “14 appointed to continue study of Port Chester form-based code: Restraints on committee raise red flags.” On another topic entirely but still one of exceptional significance was the article “Probationary police officer removed by P.C. Board of Trustees in split vote.”
The judges wrote: “Entries cover diverse current political issues in the community and are presented in a well-written, well-designed platform. Photos provide good supplemental material.”
Besides seminars, award presentations and roundtables, we enjoyed having our caricatures done by an artist brought along by a vendor to draw attention to his booth and catching up with former staff members of The Scarsdale Inquirer during a cocktail hour, dinner and dancing at the Canfield Casino in downtown Saratoga Springs Friday night. The longtime Westchester weekly newspaper closed suddenly Jan. 15.
A few months later, while immersed in graduation coverage at the end of June, we were surprised to learn via email that the Westmore News was one of eight newspapers and two student journalists chosen by the New York Coalition For Open Government as an “Open Government Champion.” Founder Bernard Abel would be proud that we have carried on his mission of being an advocate for open, transparent government. In so doing, we have called on the Coalition to provide opinions on several occasions which have led to stories or editorials. For instance, we sought their advice when the Port Chester school board was holding monthly unannounced retreats during budget season, the Rye Town Council held several closed-door sessions to discuss major salary increases for themselves and never announced them publicly and the Port Chester Board of Trustees appointed a study committee but hamstringed its members from speaking publicly at any board meetings or criticizing the board.
Awards aside, our weekly coverage continues, highlighting and examining everything, both good and bad, that makes the Villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook and the Town of Rye unique and providing an outlet for readers’ opinions. Hopefully our communities and their residents are more well informed and better because of it.
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