Breeze Newspapers receives nine awards at Florida Press Association weekly newspaper contest
Breeze Newspapers publications were recognized with nine awards at the Florida Press Association’s weekly newspaper contest in Orlando last Friday.
The Cape Coral Breeze received five awards. The Fort Myers Beach Observer was recognized with four.
Leading the awards was the prestigious First Amendment Defense (Jon A. Roosenraad Award), which went to Breeze Newspapers Executive Editor Valarie Harring for a package submission of eight editorials which ran in The Breeze.
“We work for our readers here, but it’s always nice to be recognized by your peers and I’m thrilled for our staffers who received awards,” Breeze Newspapers Publisher Ray Eckenrode said.
“I’m especially pleased to see our editorial writing and editorial page recognized again. Our team, led by Valarie Harring, puts out an opinion page that’s as good as any in the state and country for a paper of any size. The prestigious editorial writing award is well deserved. In a time when digital technology allows anyone to call themself a journalist, I’m pleased and proud to work with people here at The Breeze who still know what that actually means.”
The editorials covered a variety of subjects defending the right of citizen involvement in local government.
The Breeze opposed Cape Coral City Council’s decision to move public comment to the end of its meetings; opposed council’s decision to excise the right of an individual to “petition” council for extra speaking time; urged council to revisit its elimination of citizen advisory boards; questioned how council has prioritized public input on controversial issues; called for changes to the city’s public records processes and opposed state legislation which made it more difficult for citizen-led initiatives.
“This is not an individual award,” Harring said. “It is recognition of the commitment of the Breeze Newspapers editorial board has to the public’s right to be heard by local and state government. Holding officials accountable on matters of public speech, public input and public records is a responsibility we do not take lightly.”
The Breeze also won second place for best editorial page covering divisions A and B. It earned a first the previous three years running.
Breeze Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad won second and third place for Division A sports spot news story.
Eckenrode won third place for best headline for Division A for The Breeze.
Harring also serves as executive editor of the Fort Myers Beach Observer, whose editor, Nathan Mayberg, received a first-place award in Division B and Division C for best hurricane feature story. The article covered the continuing rebuild on Fort Myers Beach, with interviews of local residents and businessowners recovering from Hurricane Ian, as well as Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Mayberg won second place in divisions A and B for multimedia storytelling for a story covering how a Town of Fort Myers Beach sand renourishment project which ran past its expected completion date, collided with the start of shorebird nesting season. The story featured photos and video by Mayberg.
Photos by Mayberg from the same Fort Myers Beach Observer story, led the Fort Myers Beach Observer to a second-place award in Division B for online slideshow.
The Fort Myers Beach Observer also captured second place in Division B for a sports feature story by Mayberg on Boston Red Sox spring training.
The annual contest featured submissions from more than 50 newspapers across the state. The contest was judged by newspaper professionals from Delaware, Maryland and the Washington D.C. area.
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