The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel staff received a number of top honors Saturday as part of the annual Maine Press Association ceremony, including a first-place award recognizing the new “Skowhegan Now” newsletter.
In all, the central Maine newspapers had 32 individual awards across a variety of categories for Maine’s newspapers as part of the annual Better Newspaper Contest for reporters, photographers, editors, designers, production, advertising and circulation.
In general excellence categories, the Morning Sentinel won first place for advertising; the Kennebec Journal won third place for daily print newspaper; and Central Maine Sunday, which is the weekend product for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, won second place for weekend print newspaper and third place for advertising.
The Maine Press Association held its annual awards ceremony Saturday at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center in Bar Harbor. A keynote address was given by journalists at the Sun Journal and Portland Press Herald, who recounted how they marshaled staff to cover the Lewiston mass shooting.
In addition, three people were inducted into the press association’s Hall of Fame: Larry Mahoney, an award-winning sportswriter at the Bangor Daily News with more than 50 years of experience; and Naomi Schalit and John Christie, who are the founders of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which publishes The Maine Monitor. Schalit was also a former editorial page editor for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel and Christie was formerly the publisher of those papers.
During Saturday’s ceremony, staff at the Kennebec Journal received 16 individual awards; the Morning Sentinel received 15.
Among the first-place winners at the central Maine papers in daily newspaper categories, Ron Robbins and Karen Hamel took first place for best local ad, while Kennebec Journal staff received first for best supplement/special section for the Central Maine Summer Guide. Morning Sentinel staff also won first place for best campaign or series in advertising for the “Athlete of the Week” feature.
Kennebec Journal photographer Joe Phelan won best sports photo for his picture showing Edward Little’s Gage Ducharme avoiding a diving tag attempt from Bangor catcher Jack Schuck during the Class A North baseball final on June 14, 2023, in Augusta.
Edward Little’s Gage Ducharme avoids a diving tag attempt from Bangor catcher Jack Schuck during the Class A North baseball final on June 14, 2023, in Augusta. The photo won first place for best sports photo in this year’s Maine Press Association annual contest. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Dana Wilde was named the best community columnist at a daily newspaper for his “Backyard Naturalist” columns published every other Thursday; and Morning Sentinel reporter Dylan Tusinski won first place for a business/economics story for his reporting on Maine maple syrup producers saying climate change is causing unpredictable sugaring seasons.
Morning Sentinel reporter Jake Freudberg, along with Karen Beaudoin, vice president of digital product development, and Ben Pinette, web producer, won first place for best community engagement idea for the “Skowhegan Now” email newsletter launched in fall 2023. The newsletter includes stories by Freudberg and contributed information and event listings from area organizations, among other features.
Freudberg also won first place for best feature story with his profile of David Cook, a former longtime district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties who had died recently.
Morning Sentinel photographers Rich Abrahamson and Anna Chadwick each won first place awards in photography categories: Abrahamson for best people photo from a Hanukkah celebration, and Chadwick for best news photo from a Gaza hostages vigil.
In sports, Mike Mandell won first for best game story as he reported on Skowhegan field hockey defeating Brewer to mark coach Paula Doughty’s 600th win.
Here is the full list of individual awards for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel:
KENNEBEC JOURNAL
• 1st place, Local Ad, Advertising: Ron Robbins and Karen Hamel, “Charlie’s Jeep Holiday Ad”
• 1st place, Sports Photo, Photography: Joe Phelan, “Baseball final”
• 1st place, Community Columnist, Writing: Dana Wilde
• 1st place, Business/Economics Story, Writing: Dylan Tusinski, “Maine maple syrup producers say climate change is causing unpredictable sugaring seasons”
• 1st place, Supplement/Special Section, Advertising: Staff, “Central Maine Summer Guide
• 2nd place, Self-Promotion, Advertising: Alicia Tuttle, “Carrier of the Year”
• 2nd place, Best Digital Ad Campaign, Online: Jeremiah Elwell, Alicia Tuttle, “Holiday Campaign”
• 2nd place, Picture Story, Photography: Joe Phelan, “Hallowell mural”
• 2nd place, Feature Photo, Photography: Joe Phelan, “Therapy dogs at library”
• 2nd place, Sports Profile, Sports: Dave Dyer, “Cony High senior chasing down dream of playing for Iraq U-20 national soccer team”
• 2nd place, Spot News Story, Writing: Jessica Lowell, “Flooding Kennebec River leaves wake of destruction as thousands remain without power”
• 3rd place, Campaign or Series, Advertising: Staff, “Patriot Series”
• 3rd place, Community Engagement Idea, Advertising: Jeremiah Elwell, Alicia Tuttle, “Ugly Sweater Photo Contest”
• 3rd place, Sports Photo, Photography: Joe Phelan, “Cross Country race”
• 3rd place, Game Story, Sports: Mike Mandell, “Mental fortitude key as Maine Summer Adventure Race takes over Brunswick”
• 3rd place, Education Story, Writing: Emily Duggan, “Many at Chelsea Elementary School now dress up for ‘Dapper Wednesday’”
MORNING SENTINEL
• 1st place, Campaign or Series, Advertising: Staff, “Athlete of the Week”
• 1st place, Community Engagement Idea, Advertising: Jake Freudberg, Ben Pinette and Karen Beaudoin, “Skowhegan Now”
• 1st place, News Photo, Photography: Anna Chadwick, “Gaza hostages vigil”
• 1st place, People Photo, Photography: Rich Abrahamson, “Hanukkah celebration”
• 1st place, Game Story, Sports: Mike Mandell, “Field hockey: Skowhegan tops Brewer to mark coach Paula Doughty’s 600th win”
• 1st place, Feature Story, Writing: Jake Freudberg, “Former central Maine district attorney remembered for toughness on crime, compassion for victims”
• 2nd place, Sports Columnist, Sports: Mike Mandell, “Sidelines” columns
• 2nd place, Opinion Columnist, Writing: Hilary Koch, opinion columns
• 2nd place, Supplement/Special Section, Advertising: Staff, “Holiday Guide”
• 3rd place, Local Ad, Advertising: David Pierce, Karen Hamel
• 3rd place, Feature Photo, Photography: Rich Abrahamson, “Ducks in river foam”
• 3rd place, Editorial Page, Sections: Ben Bragdon and Megan Bachelder
• 3rd place, Sports News Story, Sports: Dave Dyer, “‘I wish we could hit’: Some call for change in Maine’s physicality difference”
• 3rd place, Food Story/Feature, Writing: “New owners of Brick House Kitchen in Skowhegan off to a fresh start”
• 3rd place, News Headline, Writing: Staff, “Shadow of concern approaches as Somerset County public safety officials prepare for eclipse”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.