Herald wins 11 press awards
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STAFF REPORT - Published: December 4, 2009
The Rutland Herald won five first-place honors and 11 overall at the Vermont Press Association awards for 2008, announced Thursday in Montpelier by Michael Donoghue, executive director of the association.
Sunday reporter Kevin O'Connor won the Mavis Doyle Award, presented annually as a general excellence prize to one reporter who best exemplifies the qualities of Mavis Doyle, former Statehouse reporter. O'Connor also took third place for best state story.
Staff photographer Cassandra Hotaling won for best sports photo and took second place for general news photo.
City desk reporter Brent Curtis won first and third place in the local story category.
Outdoors editor Dennis Jensen won for best sportswriter.
Editor Randal Smathers won first and second place for editorial writing.
The Herald was runner-up for general excellence and rutlandherald.com was runner-up for outstanding Web site.
Burlington lawyer Robert B. Hemley was awarded the Matthew Lyon Award for his lifetime commitment to the First Amendment and the public's right to know the truth in Vermont.
Hemley represents the Rutland Herald as well as several other news agencies across Vermont.
The award is named for the former Vermont congressman who was jailed in 1798 under the Alien and Sedition Act for sending a letter to the editor criticizing President John Adams. While Lyon was serving his federal sentence in a Vergennes jail, Vermonters re-elected him to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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