The Manchester Cricket won three awards this year from the National Newspaper Association’s juried Better Newspaper Awards, securing awards for feature writing, investigative reporting and reporting in the arts.
The awards ceremony will take place in Washington DC at NNAF's 137th Annual Convention at the end of September.
Entries from 40 states were received in this year’s competition, with 516 awards given for work in editorial design, writing and photography as well as advertising. Judging was performed primarily by community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals.
All three of the Cricket’s NNA awards were for editorial writing.
Cricket features editor Kris McGinn took first place for Best Profile Feature among non-daily newspaper for Jess Yurwitz and Jeff Pacione: The Language of Friendship, her story about two friends—one a teacher and the other, an artist with a condition that prevents speech—who communicate through their preferred way: painting. After a medical emergency, Jeff Pacione developed aphasia restricting his ability to speak. Despite his inability to drive and work, he was able to paint, which soon would become his new talking. McGinn’s piece chronicled their relationship, developed while working together and coming to understand each other through colors, brush strokes, and shadows.
Erika Brown, the paper’s editor, was awarded a first-place win in Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series among non-daily newspapers for her series on Manchester’s municipal water. Her series of stories included the history of the public water system, coverage of the Manchester’s water infrastructure and the Water Resources Task Force, the 2022 summer drought, and the comprehensive examination of a proposed-but-not-adopted Board of Health Water Regulation.
Then, Brown also secured a third-place win for Best Review among all newspaper categories (daily and non-daily) for her review of the Gloucester Stage Company’s 2022 production of “Paradise Blue.” The play was a commentary on gentrification and urban renewal in 1950s Detroit as it told the story of a trumpeter struggling to hold onto his jazz club in an established Black neighborhood.
Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association is the longest running association of newspapers in America and one of the largest newspaper associations in the country.
