The Catholic Courier and El Mensajero Católico recently received a total of 22 awards from the Catholic Press Association for work published during 2011. The association also awarded Bishop Matthew H. Clark its Bishop John England Award for the publisher who defends and exercises his First Amendment rights.
The CPA, which represents more than 600 Catholic publications in the United States and Canada, presented the awards during its annual convention in Indianapolis June 20-22.
Catholic Courier awards
The Courier won the following awards:
Individual Excellence – Photographer/Artist
First Place – Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: A series of dramatic images. Beautiful and moving!
Best Use of Art or Graphics – Best Chart or Information Graphic
First Place – “Hydrofracking” by Linda Jeanne Rivers
Judges’ comments: This piece is eye-catching, graphically pleasing and informative. The use of a cross-section was a good choice for this graphic, and the information provided complements the article.
Best Freestanding Online/Multi-Media Presentation of Video
First Place – “Dance brings back memories for seniors” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: Quite pleasant, technically OK, sensitive, Good use of the medium. A very nice balance between information and lightheartedness magazine style. The pacing is not monotonous.
Best Freestanding Online/Multi-Media Presentation of Photo Gallery or Slideshow
First Place – “Jazz campers learn to improvise” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: Beautiful piece, very well layered, very involving and with excellent sense of timing. Vices, notes, ambiance sounds work together brilliantly.
Second Place – “Cancer awareness is personal for CYO team” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: Very nice piece, layered well, theme and storyline work well together.
Third Place – “Giving from the heart at the House of Mercy” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: Very humane and layered, text overlapping audio made it confusing for moments. But content and images quality.
Honorable Mention – “Stella Maris band plays with purpose” by Mike Crupi
Best Newspaper Website/Stand-Alone Website
Second Place – by Staff
Judges’ comments: Strong lead stories and a clean design makes this a quality website.
Best Analysis/Background/Round-Up News Writing: The Gerard E. Sherry Award
Second Place – “Fractured dialogue” by Amy Kotlarz
Judges’ comments: Good human interest approach to a fresh topic. Writing was very conversational, which made a tricky topic easy to understand.
Read the story here.
Best Photograph – Best Feature Photo (Black and White or Color)
Second Place – “Hundreds elect to join church” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: Classic image that illustrates the good work done by members of the clergy.
Best Online Blog Publication
Third Place – “Our Two Cents” by Staff
Judge’s comments: Works well as an extension of the publication.
Read the blog here.
El Mensajero awards
El Mensajero won the following awards:
General Excellence
Third Place
Judges’ comments: El Mensajero es un periódico serie y sobrio, calidades deseadas en una publicación. Aprendo un montón sobre Rochester, la iglesia, y los feligreses. Hay notas sobre la enseflanza, fe, salud, familia y festivales. Strong photography and good story choices reflect the vitality of the community. Good feature reporting.
Individual Excellence – Writer
First Place – Annette Jiménez
Judges’ comments: Excelente articulos. Son todos muy bien escritos y el reportaje es impresionante. Annette Jimenez es un tesoro para El Mensajero y Rochester. Jimenez consistently uses detail and scene setting to bring life to her stories; she is a skilled reporter, covering a wide range of topics, varying her approach to leads and structure, and writing with nice pace.
Best Coverage of Immigration
First Place – “Best Coverage of Immigration” by Annette Jiménez and Jennifer Burke
Judges’ comments: Annette Jiménez and Jennifer Burke cover the immigrant community in Rochester; their coverage of immigration is rooted in sound, depth reportmg of real families.
Read articles in English here and in Spanish here.
Best In-Depth Analysis
First Place – “Censuran la esclavitud de hoy dia” by Annette Jiménez
Judges’ comments: Un antIcubo completo. La autora ha hecho una investigación, ha entrevistado varias personas y ha escrito una nota informativa y analitica.
Read story in English here and in Spanish here.
Best Photo Story Originating with a Newspaper
Second Place – “Una celebración del quinceañero” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: A good solid story. Quality of the images could have been stronger but the story comes through. Not just a group of pictures but a story from beginning to end.
Best Personality Profile
Second Place – “Sobreviviente de abuso educa a otros” by Annette Jiménez
Judges’ comments: A delicate subject is tackled in an elegant and nonintrusive manner.
Read the article in English: Part 1 and in Spanish: Part 1
Best Lead Article
Third Place – “Los quintuples van al kindergarten” by Annette Jiménez
Judges’ comments: Light-hearted, but fascinating article about the intricacies of raising quintuplets.
Read the article in English here and in Spanish here.
Best Coverage of Healthcare
Third Place – “Best Coverage of Health Care” by Annette Jiménez
Judges’ comments: The piece provides a good look at how cultural differences can affect health care delivery.
Best Photograph – Best General News Photo (Black and White or Color)
Third Place – “Carrera honra a soldados caIdos” by Tamara Tirado
Judges’ comments: A little bit of a cliche but the photographer stayed alert to opportunities and took advantage of it.
Best Multiple Picture Package Originating with the Newspaper – Feature
Third Place – “Eventos destacan las culturas hispanas” by Mike Crupi
Judges’ comments: Very fun. Nice variety.
