Journalists Association of New York: Hudson Valley sites capture nine awards in contest

Journal staff
·2 min read

The USA Today Network’s Hudson Valley region sites earned seven first-place awards from the Journalists Association of New York for its work during the 2021 year.

The region, which includes The Journal News in White Plains, the Times Herald-Record in Middletown and the Poughkeepsie Journal, won nine awards in all. Previously, the region won 14 first-place honors in the annual contest administered by the New York News Publishers Association.

The Journalists Association of New York winners were announced Oct. 15 at an event in Saratoga Springs. The contest this year took the place of the similar annual competition discontinued by the Associated Press.

Gangs Next Door: Decades of gang violence rooted in some Hudson Valley neighborhoods

Learning Curve: As daughter learns at home, Poughkeepsie mother reflects on painful journey

From prison to pot hub: How Warwick turned a closed prison into a business campus

First-place winners in the division for newspapers with a daily circulation of 75,000 to 249,999 included:

Spot News Photo: Peter Carr, The Journal News, for “Legacy of Valor,” an image from the aftermath of the fatal Spring Valley Evergreen Court Home for Adults fire.

Firefighters work at the scene of a major fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley March 23, 2021.
Firefighters work at the scene of a major fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley March 23, 2021.

Enterprise Reporting: Asher Stockler, Diana Dombrowski, Jonathan Bandler, Seth Harrison, Patrick Oehler, Lana Bellamy and Katelyn Cordero, for the “Gangs Next Door” investigative project, which examined why some Hudson Valley cities have been in a cycle of violence, and what it is like for the residents who live there.

Feature Photo: Frank Becerra Jr., The Journal News, for “Solar Eclipse,” an image taken during an eclipse in Brewster on June 10.

The ring of fire solar eclipse as seen from the Home Depot shopping center in Brewster June 10, 2021.
The ring of fire solar eclipse as seen from the Home Depot shopping center in Brewster June 10, 2021.

Column: David Wilson, The Journal News, for a selection of Tax Watch columns examining fiscal responsibility in Westchester and surrounding counties.

Photo story or Online Gallery: Frank Becerra Jr., The Journal News, for a gallery of images from a shooting at the Danbury mall.

Second-place winner in the same division:

Video: Seth Harrison, The Journal News, “Lifelong Yonkers resident fears for the safety of her children,” a part of the “Gangs Next Door” package of stories and images.

First-place winners in the division for newspapers with a daily circulation of 75,000 and under included:

Feature story: Katelyn Cordero, Poughkeepsie Journal, for “Kendra and Diamond,” one installment of her Learning Curve series of articles lifting the veil on what it is like for a single mother in Poughkeepsie and her child through a year of remote learning.

Business writing: Chris McKenna, Times Herald-Record, for "From prison to pot hub: How Warwick turned a closed prison into a business campus," which looked at the transformation of the Mid-Orange Correctional Facility.

Second-place winner in the same division:

Photo Story or Online Gallery: Patrick Oehler, Poughkeepsie Journal, for “Learning Curve.”

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Journalists Association of New York awards: Hudson Valley takes awards