Packet Media Group staff members have won six first-place awards in the weekly newspaper division of the New Jersey Press Association’s 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.
Three first place awards went to editors and reporters while three also went to graphic artists and sales representatives in the advertising department.
Staff writer Philip Sean Curran earned a first place in business writing for his story on the closing of Larini’s service station in Princeton, along with a companion piece on Princeton University’s plans for redevelopment in the area.
“The combination of stories provided an effective one-two punch that the reader would not have gotten if all the information was combined into one story,” a judge wrote. “The redevelopment story’s focus on the bigger picture was the right approach.”
TIMEOFF editor Anthony Stoeckert won a first place for arts and entertainment writing for his feature article on a photographer’s exhibit of images taken in a cemetery.
Executive Editor Mike Morsch’s lead paragraph in his story about a World Way II veteran also was awarded first place. “The lede draws the reader into the story, and the content and writing of the rest of the piece doesn’t disappoint,” a judge commented.
In advertising, the Central Jersey Health special section earned first place for Best New Project 2015. The judges called it, “An expansive look at healthcare in central New Jersey.”
Sales executives Michele Nesbihal and Dee Scarpati and graphic artists Jimmy Ellerth and Joe Kanaska were responsible for the section.
Graphic artists Ellerth and Kanaska also won first-place awards for Best Home and Garden Ad and Best Small Space Classified Ad.
Staff members also won other awards.
TIMEOFF, edited by Anthony Stoeckert, received second place for Feature Section — Layout and Content.
Executive Editor Morsch received a second place award in column writing for his column, Around the Horn.
Staff writer Lea Kahn earned a third place in interpretive writing for her articles on the pros and cons of designating Princeton’s Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood into a historic district, and the neighborhood’s history.
And editorials by editor Aubrey Huston earned third place in the Responsible Journalism category.
Graphic artists Ellerth and Kanaska won third-place awards for Best Real Estate Ad and for Best Classified Pages, under the direction of real estate sales manager Gerri Rieckhoff.
