The Martha’s Vineyard Times has been recognized by a regional newspaper association with one of its most coveted awards at an annual convention on Saturday.
The Times received first place in the “general excellence” category at the New England Newspaper and Press Association Better Newspaper Competition (NENPA) awards banquet held in Portland, Maine, as well as first place in its “outstanding newsletter” category for The Minute daily newsletter. The Times also received a number of top awards recognizing individual performances and staff efforts, 11 awards in total, after submitting 13 pieces for NENPA’s consideration.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for our first year working together, and I am so proud of every single member of the team,” said Charles Sennott, the MV Times publisher who took the helm just over one year ago at the invitation of Steve Bernier, who acquired the paper in January 2024.
Sennott applauded the work of Sam Houghton, managing editor for news, for his leadership of the newsroom through an extraordinary year of impactful reporting about the Island community, which was recognized with numerous NENPA awards.
Among the other top distinctions in editorial, features writer Abby Remer received first place in arts and entertainment reporting for her piece “Leo Frame bears ‘witness to Black consciousness’”; contributing reporter Hayley Duffy received first place in health reporting for her piece on “The Island’s Hidden Homeless”; and staff reporter Eunki Seonwoo received second place for the right-to-know category for his investigation into the Steamship Authority and the vessel Sankaty drifting away from a ferry terminal. Photographer Dena Porter received second place for news feature photo.
The Times also received a number of awards for design work. Manager of design and production Dave Plath received first place for an arts and entertainment section for his work on the Times’ calendar section; creative director Kristofer Rabasca and former managing editor Connie Berry were recognized for overall design and presentation for the “Arts & Ideas” annual magazine; Rabasca and designer Nicole Jackson were recognized for overall design and presentation of a specialty publication for the summer 2024 edition of “Vineyard Visitor” magazine. Rebasca and contributor Katherine Scott also received second place for a living page or section, for a feature on monarch butterflies.
The Times received third place for best front page for a May 9 edition featuring a photo of Olivia Gray Konrath and her father’s skeleton in a plane ride over Martha’s Vineyard.
NENPA represents and serves some 450 daily, weekly, and specialty newspapers across New England.
The Times last won first place in the general excellence category in 2017.
After the hiatus on posting opinions, and a review of standards, the MVTimes has returned and caused this section to be dull and with little participation. Yes, lower the vitriol and personal attacks, but commentary to narrow banal local issues has become much less interesting.
Congratulations!
Keep up the great work!
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