The Day named Newspaper of the Year for Sunday edition

Sep. 21—PROVIDENCE — The Day was recognized Saturday as Newspaper of the Year for our Sunday edition at the New England Newspaper and Press Association's fall conference.

The Day also won a Distinguished Newspaper award for our weekday edition.

Both awards were for papers within NENPA's large circulation category.

We're proud of our Sunday edition, which consistently features in depth stories, stunning visuals and artful layout of the front, region, business, editorial, features and sports sections in print and digital.

"The staff at The Day are some of the hardest-working journalists in the industry," said Executive Editor Izaskun E. "Sassy" Larrañeta. "I'm proud of them and of the stories they tell day in and day out. They understand that local news matters and is integral to keeping an informed electorate. We are honored that their hard work is being recognized by NENPA."

The Newspaper of the Year contest is judged by New England newspaper readers who "evaluate the entries from a news consumer point of view." The readers evaluate the paper's relative strengths and weaknesses, including the quality of reporting and writing, use of photos, design and presentation, digital offering, overall utility and value and general impressions.

We were asked to submit the Sunday, April 14, 2024, edition and any Sunday edition between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024.

The Sunday, April 14 edition was chock full of great local content, including a front page story on Groton residents of manufactured homes by Staff Writer Kimberly Drelich and a story by reporter Daniel Drainville on how local businesses would be affected by a potential ban on the TikTok social media app.

Business Editor Lee Howard wrote about Pfizer Inc.'s planned $25 million expansion of its Groton campus on the business page. Features Editor Kristina Dorsey wondered, "Who's the Boss?" in a review of the Bruce Springsteen concert at Mohegan Sun for the region page and sports writer Gavin Keefe covered the UConn Huskies' celebration of their national championship.

We also submitted the April 28 edition, another strong edition with a front page story introducing Howard's "Beyond the Polls" election coverage that identified top issues to local voters and a story by Staff Writer Claire Bessette about the mysterious deaths of posthumously famous African American folk artist Ellis Ruley and his son-in-law, Douglas Harris, more than a half century ago. Bessette had reviewed the Norwich Police file on the case after a Freedom of Information Commission ruling declared such cases public information.

For the weekday contest, we were asked to submit one issue from the week of April 8-13, 2024 and one issue from any weekday June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024. One of those submissions was the Jan. 26 edition, with comprehensive staff coverage of the collapse of the First Congregational Church in New London.