Breeze staffers at last Friday’s Rhode Island Press Association Awards Banquet are, back row from left, Ethan Shorey, Laurence J. Sasso Jr.,Jacquelyn Moorehead and Chris Eck. In the front are, from left, LuzJennifer Martinez, Lise Barnett, Laura Colantonio, Kayla Panu, Jamie Quinn and Ron Scopelliti.
Breeze staffers at last Friday’s Rhode Island Press Association Awards Banquet are, back row from left, Ethan Shorey, Laurence J. Sasso Jr.,Jacquelyn Moorehead and Chris Eck. In the front are, from left, LuzJennifer Martinez, Lise Barnett, Laura Colantonio, Kayla Panu, Jamie Quinn and Ron Scopelliti.
WARWICK – The Valley Breeze won 11 awards among the 153 given to journalists throughout the state for writing, design and photography in the Rhode Island Press Association’s editorial contest for 2022.
That total included four first-place finishes, a record for the paper.
The Breeze won first place for Community Outreach, an award given for numerous initiatives, including the State Spelling Bee, Yellow Bag Day, addressing food insecurity and promoting student journalism initiatives, and second place for election coverage, with The Providence Business News coming in first and The Globe coming in third.
“It always makes us proud to receive these awards against great competition, but it’s even more gratifying knowing that they are a natural result of consistent quality work we do on behalf of readers every day,” said Editor Ethan Shorey. “We’re not ultimately doing this coverage to impress judges far away, but to make our readers happy and strengthen the communities we serve, and that commitment to a higher mission is reflected in the results.”
Woonsocket reporter Bella Pelletiere won first in the Notable New Reporter category, while Pelletiere and Shorey also won third for Government Reporting for their coverage of Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt’s removal from office last year.
The paper won first in the Headline Writing category, with Shorey, staff writer Jacquelyn Moorehead, and former staff writer Zack DeLuca sharing the win.
Staff writer Kayla Panu won third place for History Journalism for an article on a cemetery restoration, and Editorial and Design Team coordinator Laura Colantonio won third for Business Story with her article on a record store that’s still in business.
Shorey also won first in the Neighborhood Coverage category for his “fuel wars” story in North Providence, beating out entries from The Globe and Journal.
Moorehead won honorable mention for her work in the Short News Story category, and photographer Charles Lawrence won honorable mention for his photo of a Ukrainian pastor in Woonsocket.
Shorey won honorable mention for Distinguished Journalist, an award based on stories written over the past five years.
The association also inducted two new members into its Journalism Hall of Fame: Karen Bordeleau, former executive editor of The Providence Journal; and Timothy Cotter, former executive editor of The Day of New London, Conn.
During the annual banquet, held at Chelo’s on the Waterfront for the first time, the association elected officers for next year: Ethan Shorey of The Valley Breeze and Elyse Major of Providence Media and will remain co-presidents; Carlos Munoz of The Globe Rhode Island replaces Michael McDermott as vice president; Sarah Francis, formerly of Rhode Island Monthly, will remain treasurer; and Will Richmond of The Providence Journal and The Newport Daily News replaces Linda Lotridge Levin as secretary.
Shorey and Major spoke of the association’s initiatives, including organizing a second straight R.I. High School Journalism Day on May 19, when nearly 30 schools, a record, are expected to participate. Others who wish to join in should email ethan@valleybreeze.com
Congratulations to all! The awards are well deserved, especially the Community Outreach and Neighborhood Coverage awards. I look forward to The Valley Breeze every week because it is the BEST source for local news that is important to me and my community. Keep up the great work!
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Congratulations to all! The awards are well deserved, especially the Community Outreach and Neighborhood Coverage awards. I look forward to The Valley Breeze every week because it is the BEST source for local news that is important to me and my community. Keep up the great work!
Congratulations! Well Done!
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Comments that will be deleted include:
- Those that include threatening, derogatory, obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist, sexist or sexually-oriented language.
This includes any name-calling/nicknames of people both on the local and national level.
- Those with accusations or allegations that can’t be proven, or that try to build a negative narrative about one person or entity
over time through a clearly coordinated campaign. If you believe the backstory really needs to be shared,
send us a letter to the editor or a story pitch with your name and contact information.
- Those with outright lies or falsehoods.
Please use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know if you believe a comment was allowed in error.What we at The Breeze would truly like to see are comments that add history and context to a story or that use criticism constructively.