BOSTON — At the annual New England Newspaper and Press Association’s meeting this past weekend in Boston, the Addison County Independent won 16 awards, including six first places, while its sister publication, Vermont Ski + Ride Magazine, won nine awards, including five first places.
Angelo Lynn, owner and publisher of the Addison Press, which is the parent company of the Independent, Vermont Ski + Ride Magazine, Vermont Sports Magazine, The Reporter in Brandon-Proctor-Pittsford, and the Mountain Times in Killington, said he was pleased with the recognition.
“In an era of fake news, social media feeds coming from thousands of unknown sources, and the credibility of cable news, Congress and the presidency strained to the breaking point, it’s heartening that the Addison Independent and our sister publications can retain the confidence of the communities we serve, be seen as a trustworthy source of news, and receive accolades from our peers throughout New England,” Lynn said.
The newspaper received two first-place awards in the advertising and marketing category, including one for Business Innovation for the production of its Middlebury seasonal recreation guides and another for Specialty Publication Promotion for ads done by Elsie Lynn Parini in the Arts + Leisure section produced each Thursday.
Graphic designer Maxx Steinmetz won second place for Best Graphic Designer among all weekly newspapers in the largest circulation category, and Lynn Parini placed second in Infographics published in the Arts + Leisure section. The large weekly category competes against publications with circulation over 6,000, including such publications as the Providence Business Journal, Worcester Magazine andSeven Days, many of which are two or three times the Independent’s size.
In advertising, the Addison Independent also placed second for an advertiser campaign for Fire & Ice Restaurant, and third for a real estate ad for Champlain Valley Properties.
In news, the Independent took the unusual honor of sweeping all three places for Sports Columnists, with Matt Dickerson taking first, Andy Kirkaldy placing second and Karl Lindholm grabbing the third spot. Jessie Raymond was a repeat winner as a Humor Columnist, and publisher Angelo Lynn repeated as first-place winner for editorial writing.
Thirty-year veteran reporter John Flowers won first for his spot news coverage of the aftermath of a fatal plane crash in East Middlebury, and Gaen Murphee took third place for a piece she wrote on the harrowing journeys migrant farm workers often make when traveling from Mexico to area dairy farms. At our sister paper in Brandon, editor Lee Kahrs took third place for spot news coverage in the under-6,000 circulation division.
Other awards for the Addison Independent were for third place in headline writing, third for special section for our graduation section called “Where Are They Now?” (in which we profile area high school graduates from 10 years ago), and second place for our Addison County Fair and Field Days program.
At Vermont Ski + Ride Magazine, a New England-wide magazine that is produced in the Addison Independent offices in Middlebury, the two-person editorial team of editor Lisa Gosselin Lynn and assistant editor Emma Cotton earned a bevy of awards, including a first place for Emma Cotton as a columnist covering the après-ski scene. The duo also earned first-place honors for headline writing, pictorial and sports photography and best front page. The quarterly magazine took second places for entertainment reporting and a personality profile on Jake Burton Carpenter (Lisa Lynn), and the team won third place for General Excellence among all specialty publications throughout New England.
Finally, our sister paper the Mountain Times won a first place, two seconds and a third in the largest weekly category, all in advertising and design.
“With hundreds of newspapers throughout the six New England states competing in this annual competition, it’s an honor just to place in the top three in any category,” said Angelo Lynn, “and to be among the best is a real tribute to the hard work, talent and effort our teams exhibit every day of the year. It continues to be a challenging business and we’re beyond fortunate to have such a dedicated and community-focused team.”