NORTHAMPTON — The Daily Hampshire Gazette and Valley Advocate won several awards from the New England Better Newspaper Competition over the weekend in a competition for papers of similar sizes across six states.
Gazette honorees include staff writers Dusty Christensen and Scott Merzbach, former staff writer Amanda Drane, photographer Jerrey Roberts, editor in chief Brooke Hauser, features reporter Andy Castillo and sports writer Kyle Grabowski. Valley Advocate associate editor Chris Goudreau also won an award.
“These awards are a testament to the hard work of reporters and photographers here and the insightful news coverage they bring to readers every day,” said managing editor Dan Crowley. “The range of work spotlighted by the judges says it all. I’m very proud of our team.”
“It’s good to see the Gazette’s work appreciated by others in our industry, particularly at a time when journalists are being villainized in this country and around the world,” Hauser said. “If readers missed these stories the first time around, I hope they’ll look for them online.”
Castillo placed first in health reporting for his story about home health care workers.
“A well-written piece that explores the challenges faced by home care workers, including the physical difficulties of the job and, also importantly, their economic challenges,” the judges commented. “The piece nicely details how much they are paid by agencies, and the role Medicaid plays.”
Merzbach won first place in government reporting for his piece about the end of Town Meeting in Amherst. Judges commended it for being a well-written and “nostalgic take” on the end of an era, and for incorporating many sources, including the voices of older residents.
The judges called Hauser’s piece on former U.S. Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur “fantastically thorough and interesting” and awarded it second place in the obituaries category.
Drane’s portrait of a man in ICE custody facing deportation to Iraq after living in the U.S. for decades earned her third place in general news.
“Behind every ICE arrest is a story,” the judges wrote, commenting that “this one just told the truth. Niberd Alzendi Abdalla doesn’t have a particularly sympathetic story, but his struggle is universally human.”
Dusty Christensen won third place in education reporting for his piece on an initiative to help veterans transition into college. “Not only was this a newsworthy story idea, it was well written and most informative,” the judges commented.
Goudreau’s piece on sexual assault in the local music scene earned second place in the social issues feature story category, with the judges noting that “For every person who has ever gone out to a local music show, Goudreau presents a very readable picture of the way the #metoo movement is slowly advancing among the ranks of local musicians and those affiliated with the music entertainment industry and related venues in the Pioneer Valley.”
The judges called Grabowski’s profile of a Southampton fighter an “immersive read,” giving him second place in sports reporting.
Hauser pointed out a common theme among the winning stories. “I think it’s notable that several of the stories NENPA chose to honor are really, at their core, about people,” Hauser said. “They put a human face on some of the most important issues of our time, and in our community — immigration, health care, and the meaning of citizenship, to name a few.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com