Newspaper group takes home 30 awards in NJPA contest
Greater Media Newspapers received 30 awards from the New Jersey Press Association for excellence in writing, photography and advertising in the NJPA's Better Newspaper Contest for 2007.

Eric Sucar, "Reindeer," Independent first place, Feature

Bob Waitt, advertising director for Greater Media Newspapers, said the Classified Department, and Production Department, which designs many of the ads, are especially proud of the many awards they brought home, especially the 10 first places.

"Retail and Classified did an outstanding job by winning a total of 19 awards," said Waitt. "In addition, this will be the third consecutive year that Classified will have won 'General Excellence' in the weekly division, competing with over 150 weekly newspapers. It is testimony to the dedicated and talented advertising and production staffs we have at Greater Media Newspapers."

Especially pleasing on the editorial side was a sweep of the Environmental/ Health and Science Writing category, said Gregory Bean, executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers.

Chris Kelly, "Hair Raising," Tri-Town News second place, Portrait

"I was very pleased to be recognized for our company's work this year in the area of the environment," Bean said.

"Pat Miller's first place was well deserved for her continuous coverage in the Brick Bulletin of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant and the safety concerns its neighbors and public officials have voiced."

Suburban staff writer Michael Acker, who won second place, reported the story of a black dust on houses in Sayreville that residents say is coming from a local steel mill.

Third-place winners Christine Varno and Liz Sheehan examined the possibility that a restaurant owner took public beach sand to create a private dune for his restaurant/beach club. Their stories ran in the Atlanticville.

Karl Vilacoba won third place for his headlines in the North/South Sentinel: "Putting on the Ritz," "In the Moody's," and "Reeding between the lines."

Also recognized were Jennifer Amato, third place, Responsible Journalism/Enterprise, North/South Brunswick Sentinel; and Clare Marie Celano, Coverage of Government, third place, News Transcript.

Jeff Granit, "Hula Hoop," Sentinel third place, Feature

The Editorial Department also won five awards for photography (three for Eric Sucar, and one each for Jeff Granit and Chris Kelly).

In the classified advertising contest, of the 16 awards, 10 were for first place, a record number of top spots for the department. The nine categories were Best Real Estate Display Ad (Spot or Multicolor); Best Real Estate Display Ad (Black and White); Best Classified House Ad; Best Agency Produced Newspaper Ad; Best Classified and/or Telemarketing Pages; Best Black and White or Color Classified, and/or Telemarketing Directory, Best Classified Section; Best Use of Small Space; Best External Classified Promotion Idea; and the coveted General Excellence award.

The Classified Department also won third places for Telemarketing Directory, Best Agency Produced Newspaper Ad, Best Classified House Ad, Best External Classified Promotion Idea and Best Classified and/or Telemarketing Pages. A second place was awarded for Best Real Estate Display Ad.

In the retail advertising contest, Greater Media won second place for the Best Free Standing Insert for "Eclectic" and second and third places for Best Newspaper Promotion Ad or Series.

The newspaper group, based in Freehold, publishes 12 weeklies, serving Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean counties, and a monthly Spanish-language newspaper, Latinos Unidos.

The editorial winners were honored at aNew Jersey Press Association banquet April 3 at the Trenton Marriott. The advertising awards will be presented at a banquet April 18.