Piscataquis Observer earns six honors in annual newspaper contest
Piscataquis Observer staff picked up a half dozen awards among the state’s smaller weekly publications division from the Maine Press Association in the 2024 MPA Better Newspaper Contest, announced on Oct. 19 during the organization’s annual conference in Bar Harbor.
The Piscataquis Observer’s Stuart Hedstrom received first place in the sports headline category with “Greenville and PCHS to field cooperate softball team.”
Hedstrom and Valerie Royzman combined for first-place honors in the continuing story category for their coverage of the Mayo Mill Dam in Dover-Foxcroft.
ROGER E. DAVIS BASEBALL FIELD — Joe Caruso and Debbie Davis and their family members look at a sign for the newly christened Roger E. Davis Baseball Field at Foxcroft Academy during the dedication ceremony in the Jim Robinson Field House on Aug. 4, 2023. The image earned the Piscataquis Observer’s Stuart Hedstrom third-place honors in the weekly 1 news photo category of the Maine Press Association’s 2024 MPA Better Newspaper Contest. The Piscataquis Observer earned six awards, including a pair in first place.
Hedstrom wrote the second-place sports news story on Penquis playing a JV-only girls basketball schedule. He also had the second-place health story on the closure of the JD Foundation.
He had another second-place honor for feature headline with “Fish into water, SeDoMoCha fourth-graders release their trout.”
Hedstrom received third-place recognition in the news photo category with an image from the dedication of Foxcroft Academy’s Roger E. Davis Baseball Field.
The Piscataquis Observer, Aroostook County’s four weekly newspapers, and the Bangor Daily News organization together earned nearly 80 awards from the Maine Press Association.
The BDN was named Maine’s best daily newspaper. The Star-Herald of Presque Isle won first place in its division for general excellence, the top weekly news recognition.
Journalists and staff from the St. John Valley Times, Aroostook Republican, Star-Herald and Houlton Pioneer times won 43 individual awards in writing, photography, and design, including 15 first-place nods. The BDN won 26, including two first-place prizes.
“These awards are a testament to the dedication of our talented staff who work long hours to serve readers across a large area of Maine,” said Mike Dowd, editor of the weeklies. “From reporters and editors to page designers and advertising representatives, they have earned this recognition.”
Journalists, editors, and advertising representatives from other out of state publications — this year it was the Nebraska Press Association — judged contest entries from weekly and daily newspapers throughout the state. A complete list of 2024 award winners will be posted on the MPA’s website at www.mainepressassociation.org.