State Contest: Eleven Awards Won By The Star

East Enders on the North and South Forks are reading four of the top 10 community weeklies in New York State. At awards dinners for the 1996 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest last weekend in Albany, The East Hampton Star, The Sag Harbor Express, The Southampton Press, and The Suffolk Times all came away with accolades.

In addition to the awards, the annual convention of the association draws newspapers from around the state for two days of seminars touching on every aspect of newspapering. More than 500 members of the paid weekly press attended this year's event, one of the best-attended N.Y.P.A. conferences in recent years.

The East Hampton Star brought back awards in 11 categories, including three blue ribbons for first place, three second-place awards, four thirds, and an honorable mention.

First On Farming

Two stories on farmers and the state of agriculture on the East End - "Farmers: It's Not Just the Weather" and "Mecox Farmer Joins Exodus"- by Carissa Katz earned first place in the state for coverage of agriculture. The judges, members of the New Jersey Press Association, praised the articles as "well-researched, well-written stories on the economic, environmental, and cultural pressures on Long Island farmers."

The Star's Christmas supplement, "Holiday Dreaming," garnered first place in its circulation division for a holiday section. The judges called the supplement a "good, solid volume" and said the stories were "both informative and interesting." Virginia Garrison, the Star's managing editor, edited the supplement.

An advertisement created by The Star for Country Gear Ltd. in Bridgehampton was dubbed best small space ad in the top division for its "strong graphic image which conveys the message at a glance."

As for The Star's editorial pages, the judges said, "Beautiful layout. Strong editorials." They commended the volume of letters included in the section and gave the paper a second place award.

Russell Drumm's photograph of a Coastguardsman taken after the serviceman spent a night retrieving bodies from the Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crash was given a second place award for spot news photo. The judges commended Mr. Drumm for capturing a glimpse of the pain and anguish the Coastguardsman felt about his terrible task.

Testimonial Ad

A series of testimonial ads featuring local advertisers got The Star a second place award in its circulation division for best "house ad" campaign.

Finally Russell Drumm, Stephen Kotz, and Michelle Napoli earned a third place prize in spot news coverage for their stories on the T.W.A. tragedy. Mr. Drumm's "A Night in Hell," an emotional first person account of his night aboard a Coast Guard cutter combing the sea, moved the judges most. It "lends a personal touch to coverage of tragedy," they wrote. The story by Mr. Kotz dealing with those on the flight who had local connections and Ms. Napoli's article about the search for debris along East Hampton beaches did "a top-notch job of localizing the international story," they said.

The Star also received third place prizes for overall design excellence, best ad design, and classified advertising.

The other three papers on the East End of the Island with membership in the N.Y.P.A. had a stellar showing in the contest this year.

Express Success

The Sag Harbor Express, which competes in a smaller circulation division than The Star, drew raves. When points from combined awards were tallied up, the Express rated second highest in the state. Among the paper's prizes were six first place awards, including the coveted past presidents' award for general excellence. Judges liked the Express's photography, volume of spot news, editorial page, front page, and letters section.

The same award in The Star's circulation division went to The Southampton Press, with praise from the judges for its "solid content, with a no-apologies retro design," and "broad scope of the stories." The Press also took its division's first place spot news prize for coverage of the T.W.A. disaster that appeared in its Western Edition, and for best house ad.

The Suffolk Times, based in Mattituck, won a fair share of prizes as well, earning blue ribbons for best art photograph and photographic excellence. Over all, the Times was rated fifth best in the state this year.