MIDDLEBURY — The Addison County Independent took top honors at the New England Newspaper Press Association’s Better Newspaper Competition this past weekend in Portsmouth, N.H., winning first place in General Excellence among large weekly newspapers throughout the six states. The Independent took home 28 awards in all, including second place in General Excellence for advertising.

“It’s always exciting and gratifying to be named among the top three individuals in each category, but to be named the best large weekly newspaper in New England is quite an accomplishment,” said Independent publisher Angelo Lynn. Rounding out the top places in General Excellence this year were Seven Days and the Provincetown (Mass) Independent in a tie for second, and the News & Citizen of Morrisville, Vt., in third.

Lynn noted The Independent is perennially in the top three to five newspapers in New England, placing third last year and first in 2023. Before 2023, the last time the Independent had won first in General Excellence was in 2015. The weekly division is divided into two circulation categories based on printed copies: papers below 5,000 circulation, and the larger division of newspapers with 5,000 and above.

The Campus named Best College Newspaper!

Middlebury College’s student-run newspaper, The Campus, also won first place among college publications and was named the New England College Newspaper of the Year. It was the first year The Campus had entered the contest. Former managing editor Madeleine Kaptein and former Business Manager Ting Cui, both of whom graduated from Middlebury in February, and current news editor Rachelle Talbert, attended the two-day conference along with nine who work with the Addison Independent.

Overall, the Addison Independent earned 9 first place awards, 12 seconds, and 7 thirds. Those awards were:

First place:

General Excellence News and overall; Excellence in Revenue, Collaboration and Partnerships; Contests; Advertiser Campaign (Christy Lynn and Shannon Hart); Best Health Ad (Christy Lynn), Best Ad Designer (Sarah Pope), Best Arts + Leisure Section (Elsie Lynn Parini); Best Sports Columnist (Karl Lindholm); Feature Photo (Steve James).

Second place:

General Excellence for Advertising; Local Display Ad (Katy Foote and Sue Leggett); Advertiser Campaign (Christy Lynn and Elsie Lynn Parini); Events (for the Middlebury Maple Run — Christy Lynn, Elsie Lynn Parini and Angelo Lynn); Best Idea for Generating Revenue (staff); Excellence in Revenue, Collaboration and Partnerships (staff, and yes, the Independent won first and second in this category); Crime and Courts Reporting (John Flowers); Racial, Ethnic or Gender Issue coverage (John Flowers); Editorial Writing (Angelo Lynn); General News and Sports Action photos (Steve James); Community Audience Involvement (Tom Morgan and news editor John McCright for the series of columns called “Freedom & Unity”).

Third Place:

Advertiser Campaign (Katy Foote and Elsie Lynn Parini); Special Section, advertising supplement for the Middlebury Rec Guide (staff); Crime and Courts Reporting (Andy Kirkaldy); Living Page or Section (Elsie Lynn Parini); Local Election Coverage (staff for Town Meeting coverage)); Sports Action Photo (Steve James); Sports Section, Andy Kirkaldy, Steve James and Jessie Raymond (who provide wrestling state tournament photos).

Addison Independent news reporter Sophia Keshmiri, who joined the Independent in late December and is now covering sports and the Vergennes region, also won first place for environmental reporting and a second place for a feature story in the Good News category while working for The Keene (N.H.) Sentinel. Keshmiri is a 2024 graduate of Middlebury College.