The New Haven Register was recognized with the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Stephen A. Collins Public Service Award Thursday night.
It honors work by Michelle Tuccitto Sullo in exposing inadequate police response to reports of missing adults and profiles of missing adult cases by Brian McCready and Ann DeMatteo. The effort also included creation of a blog and “Missing in Connecticut” Facebook page that continues to spread alerts and information about the missing and connect their families with resources. It helped lead to the creation of a special unit of the Connecticut State Police dedicated to missing persons cases.
Ann DeMatteo and Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
The public service award was especially meaningful to Register staff as a tribute to DeMatteo, who died Sunday after a battle with cancer.
It was one of 87 awards won by Digital First Media staff, including 37 first place honors, in the Connecticut SPJ’s 2012 Excellence in Journalism Awards. That’s up from 65 awards and 27 first place honors last year, and 56 awards, with 20 in first place, the previous year.
The New Haven Register won 32 awards, followed by Connecticut Magazine with 18, The Middletown Press, 12, the Litchfield County Times, 10, and The Register Citizen, 5. Passport Magazine and Digital First Media weeklies the West Hartford News, Shoreline Times, Simsbury News and Westport Minuteman were also honored.
This year’s contest included special categories for coverage of Hurricane Sandy’s impact on Connecticut and the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December.
Digital First Media, which put more than 100 journalists from Connecticut and its sister papers in other states on the Sandy Hook story, was recognized for spot news reporting, general news reporting, page layout and photography in the Sandy Hook category.
The New Haven Register also won first place for Best Interactive Graphic for a directory its data team put together highlighting the stories of the 26 Sandy Hook victims. An interactive graphic the data team helped The Middletown Press’s Viktoria Sundqvist put together on statewide school superintendent salaries also won a first place award.
The New Haven Register’s Jim Shelton and Peter Hvizdak were honored with first place awards for Best Feature Series and Best Video Storytelling, respectively, for their year-long look at the life of Roman Baca, an Iraq war veteran using ballet to help his fellow soldiers adjust to civilian life and tell the story of what they’d been through.It was part of a company-wide project about veterans’ return from war called “American Homecomings.”
A full list of DFM’s awards follows:
New Haven Register
Stephen A. Collins Public Service Award, Michelle Tuccitto Sullo, Brian McCready and Ann DeMatteo
1st Place, Editorial, Charles Kochakian
1st Place, Hurricane Sandy Page One Layout, Mheegan Rollins
1st Place, Interactive Graphic, DFM staff (Newtown victims)
1st Place, Video Storytelling, Peter Hvizdak (American Homecomings)
1st Place, Feature Series, Jim Shelton (American Homecomings)
1st Place, Newtown Shooting News Photo, Peter Hvizdak
1st Place, Newtown Shooting Non-Page One Layout, NHR Staff
1st Place, Feature Photo, Peter Casolino
1st Place, Photo Layout, Mary Albl
2nd Place, Photo Layout, Melanie Stengel
2nd Place, Feature Photo, Arnold Gold
2nd Place, Newtown Shooting News Photo, Arnold Gold
2nd Place, General Column, Michael Bellmore
2nd Place, Opinion Column, Randall Beach
2nd Place, Newtown Shooting General Reporting, Jim Shelton
2nd Place, Feature Photo, Melanie Stengel
2nd Place, Sports Photo, Peter Casolino
2nd Place, Feature, Susan Misur
2nd Place, In-Depth Series, Susan Misur, Mark Zaretsky and Jennifer Swift
2nd Place, Spot News, Mark Zaretsky and Susan Misur
2nd Place, Sports Feature, Chris Hunn
Honorable Mention, Sports Feature, Chip Malafronte
Honorable Mention, Sports Photo, Peter Hvizdak
Honorable Mention, Feature Photo, Peter Casolino
Honorable Mention, Hurricane Sandy News Photo, Peter Casolino
Honorable Mention, Newtown Shooting Spot News, Jason Fields and DFM staff
Honorable Mention, Arts & Entertainment, Donna Doherty
Honorable Mention, General Reporting Series, Mark Zaretsky, Jennifer Swift, Susan Misur, Rich Scinto, Luther Turmelle and Pam McLoughlin
Honorable Mention, In-Depth Reporting, Michelle Tuccitto Sullo and Pam McLoughlin
Honorable Mention, In-Depth Series, Michelle Tuccitto Sullo, Brian McCready and Ann DeMatteo
Honorable Mention, Sports News, Mary Albl
Register Citizen
1st Place, Opinion Column, Andy Thibault
2nd Place, Opinion Column, Andy Thibault
Honorable Mention, Editorial, Matt DeRienzo
Honorable Mention, Feature, Andy Thibault
Honorable Mention, Sports Column, Andy Thibault
Middletown Press
1st Place, Interactive Graphic, Viktoria Sundqvist, Peggy Bustamante, Vaughn Hagerty, Nelson Hsu
1st Place, Newtown Shooting General Reporting, Viktoria Sundqvist
1st Place, News Photo, Catherine Avalone
1st Place, Sports Photo, Catherine Avalone
1st Place, Investigative Series, Viktoria Sundqvist
1st Place, Sports Feature, Joe Pelletier
1st Place, Sports News, Joe Pelletier
2nd Place, Feature Photo, Catherine Avalone
2nd Place, Feature, Viktoria Sundqvist
2nd Place, Sports Column, Joe Pelletier
Honorable Mention, Feature Photo, Catherine Avalone
Honorable Mention, News Photo, Catherine Avalone
Connecticut Magazine
1st Place, General Column, Larry Bloom
1st Place, Opinion Column, Charley Monagan
1st Place, Editorial, Charley Monagan
1st Place, Hurricane Sandy Non-Page One Layout, Greg Harmel
1st Place, Non-Page One Layout, Stacey Slimak Shea
1st Place, Newtown Shooting General Reporting, Ian Eller
1st Place, Photo Layout, Richard Feeda
1st Place, Arts & Entertainment, Patricia Grandjean
1st Place, Business, Tom Connor
1st Place, Feature, Alan Bisbort
1st Place, In-Depth Reporting, Tom Connor
1st Place, Sports Feature, David Holahan
2nd Place, Arts & Entertainment, Charley Monagan
2nd Place, Non-Page One Layout, Carol Petro
2nd Place, General Column, Cathy Ross
2nd Place, General Reporting, Tom Connor
Honorable Mention, General Reporting, Alan Bisbort
Honorable Mention, Feature, Patricia Grandjean
Litchfield County Times
1st Place, Op-Ed Column, Andy Thibault
1st Place, Business, Daniela Forte
1st Place, Feature, Kathryn Boughton
1st Place, Investigative Series, Jack Coraggio and Andy Thibault
1st Place, In-Depth Series, Daniela Forte and Andy Thibault
2nd Place, In-Depth Series, Jack Coraggio and Andy Thibault
2nd Place, Op-Ed Column, Edwin Matthews
2nd Place, Arts & Entertainment, Kathryn Boughton
Honorable Mention, Feature, Kathryn Boughton
Honorable Mention, In-Depth Series, Jack Coraggio and Doug Clement
Passport Magazine
2nd Place, Business, Jason Torsiello
2nd Place, Feature, Scot Allyn
Honorable Mention, Feature Photo, Laurie Gaboardi
West Hartford News
Honorable Mention, Video Storytelling, Kathleen Schassler
Honorable Mention, In-Depth Reporting, Kathleen Schassler
Shoreline Times
1st Place, Sports Column, Jimmy Zanor
1st Place, Sports News, Jimmy Zanor
2nd Place, Sports Column, Jimmy Zanor
Westport Minuteman
2nd Place, Sports Feature, Mary Albl
The Simsbury News
2nd Place, Feature Photo, Jacqueline Bennett
Connecticut Newsroom 