Union Leader wins 17 journalism awards, including first place for 'general excellence'
May 9—The New Hampshire Union Leader was awarded first place for general excellence Saturday at the New England Newspaper & Press Association's 2022 Better Newspaper Competition.
The Union Leader also was recognized in 16 other categories and received a total of eight first-place awards during the event at the Westin Waltham Boston hotel.
Shawne K. Wickham won first-place for a spot news for a story about a Portsmouth police officer credited with saving the life of a despondent man who was threatening to jump off the Piscataqua River Bridge.
Wickham also took first place for coverage of the pandemic for a story about front line health care workers and earned third-place honors for transportation reporting and reporting on religious issues.
Mark Hayward won first place for serious column writing, including a piece about a teenager who overdosed. He also took first place for a personality profile about "River Dave" Lidstone, who was jailed for refusing to leave the Canterbury homestead where he had been living off the grid for 27 years.
Julia Ann Weekes won a first-place award for a story about "Infinite Storm," a feature film based on a real-life White Mountains rescue. Weekes won a third-place award with Night Editor Melanie Hitchcock for best arts and entertainment section.
Alex Hall won a first place sports feature award for a story about Windham High School football coach Lauren Gaudette, who overcame medical issues to become a successful coach.
Kevin Landrigran took first place for political columns. His submission included a column about anti-vaccine mandate protesters at the State House.
Jonathan Phelps received a second-place award for obituary writing for a story about Richard Marshall of Hooksett, a retired civil engineer who took on a second career playing Santa.
Michael Cousineau received a third-place award for best solutions journalism reporting for his "What's Working" series on workforce issues. He also received third place for racial, ethnic or gender issue coverage for stories about efforts to increase diversity in the workplace.
Former Union Leader reporter Josie Albertson-Grove received a second-place award for a social issues feature about a 5-year-old whose death was ruled a homicide and how the case was handled by the state Division of Children, Youth and Families.
Albertson-Grove also received a second-place award in the history category — for a story about the 100th anniversary of 9 1/2 -month strike at Manchester's textile mills — and a third-place award for local election coverage.
