Gay City News Honored by the NY Press Association
Schneps Media snags 18 awards, including four 1st Place showings; six wins for GCN
BY ROBB POZARYCKI & PAUL SCHINDLER
Gay City News has won six
awards in the 2019 New
York Press Association
(NYPA) Better Newspaper
Contest, as Schneps Media —
its parent company of more than
70 publications across New York
City, Long Island, Westchester, and
Philadelphia — came away with a
total of 18 awards.
The awards are usually presented
at NYPA’s Spring Conference
every year, but the COVID-19 pandemic
forced NYPA to go virtual in
videos released on August 20-21.
In the 2019 competition, Schneps
Media publications earned
four fi rst-place prizes — in categories
recognizing editorial, graphic,
and photographic content.
Of note, Gay City News earned
Honorable Mention honors for the
Past Presidents’ Award for General
Excellence, and Long Island Press
earned an Honorable Mention for
the Thomas G. Butson Award for
In-Depth Reporting. These are two
of the most prestigious awards,
recognizing the overall quality of
publications.
Schneps Media winners follow:
First Place
Paul Schindler of Gay City News
for Editorials
Bob Krasner of The Villager for
Best Art Photo
Arthur Arutyunov of Bay News/
Brooklyn Graphic for Best Large
Space Ad
Claude Solnik of Long Island
Press for News Story
Second Place
Mark Hallum of Bayside Times
for Spot News Coverage
Duncan Osborne, Andy Humm
and Matt Tracy of Gay City News
for Coverage of Crime
Third place
Marcos Ramos and Robert Pozarycki
of Chelsea Now, Manhattan,
for Best Front Page
Timothy Bolger of Long Island
Press for Coverage of Local Government
Gay City News won six awards from the New York Press Association.
Bob Krasner of The Villager for
Coverage of the Arts
Matt Tracy and Paul Schindler
of Gay City News for Coverage of
Elections/Politics
Matt Tracy, Arthur S. Leonard
and Paul Schindler of Gay City
News for Coverage of Religion
Honorable Mentions
Paul Schindler, Marcos Ramos,
and Donna Aceto of Gay City News
for the Past Presidents’ Award For
General Excellence
Marcos Ramos and Robert Pozarycki
of The Villager, Manhattan
for Best Front Page
Times Newsweekly for Best Picture
Story
Gay City News for Special Section/
Niche Publications Newsprint
Cate Corcoran of Queens Courier
for Magazine
Mark Hallum and Carlotta Mohamed
of Queens Courier for News
Story
Long Island Press for the Thomas
G. Butson Award for In-Depth
Reporting
Paul Schindler’s 1st Place Award
for Editorial Writing included recognition
of editorials decrying the
harsh sentence handed down to
Abel Cedeno, a bullied gay teen
convicted of manslaughter in a
Bronx school scuffl e, looking back
on the half century leading up to
Stonewall 50, and arguing that
DONNA ACETO
calling out homophobia in elected
offi cials is not a gotcha game. The
judges wrote, “Strong suite of editorials,
all specifi c, focused, wellreasoned,
with strong values and
causes laid out for the reader. The
Unfair Sentencing editorial strongly
advocates for justice, is sensitive
to the individual, and makes the
case that justice was not served.”
Gay City News’ award for Overall
Excellence — which honors the
contributions of everyone associated
with the newspaper, especially
including designer Marcos Ramos
and photographer Donna Aceto —
was based on three editions from
2019: the LGBTQ Pride Issue celebrating
Stonewall 50, the following
issue recapping all the events
of Pride Week, and the fi nal issue
of the year. The judges wrote, “This
is a very colorful newspaper. An
excellent source of photos, news
coverage, and advertising.”
The award for Crime and Coverage
of the Courts included Duncan
Osborne’s reporting on the
anti-gay assault on Taj Patterson
in Williamsburg, the NYPD’s apology
for its actions at the Stonewall
Inn in 1969, and retired NYPD Offi
cer Tom Verni’s defamation lawsuit
against Long Island’s LGBT
Network; Andy Humm’s coverage
of the Abel Cedeno manslaughter
conviction; and Matt Tracy’s
reporting on the death of Layleen
Polanco at Rikers Island. The judges
MEDIA
wrote, “Kudos for providing insightful
background on each story,
truly comprehensive pieces.”
Gay City News’ award for Coverage
of Religion included Arthur S.
Leonard’s reporting on a federal
ruling fi nding Michigan’s adoption
nondiscrimination policy hostile to
religion; Matt Tracy’s stories about
LGBT leaders meeting with the
Vatican secretary of state, the Mormon
Church relaxing its policies
on the children of LGBTQ couples
but also opposing a ban on conversion
therapy, infl ammatory comments
by Pope Emeritus Benedicts
XVI, homophobic threats against
a welcoming congregation in Bay
Ridge, and Attorney General William
Barr’s defense of religious
objections to LGBTQ education in
schools and his Justice Department’s
support for Catholic schools
fi ring gay schoolteachers; a Passover
message of two rabbis from
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah,
Rabbi Yael Rapport and Rabbi Mike
Moskowitz, written from the Mexican
border; and Paul Schindler’s
story about Pope Francis’ meeting
with British gay comedian Stephen
K. Amos. The judges wrote, “Great,
clear coverage with meaningful
content for the community.”
The Coverage of Elections and
Politics Award included Matt
Tracy’s stories about Bronx City
Councilmember Ritchie Torres’ decision
to run for Congress in 2020,
tensions at a Stonewall Democratic
Club endorsement meeting in
that congressional race, the anti-
LGBTQ ties of three of the candidates
in last year’s public advocate
race, the stumbles in Pete Buttigieg’s
rollout of his Douglass Plan
for Black America; and Tracy and
Schindller’s story about the push
for LGBTQ City Council candidates
for 2021. The judges wrote, “Some
excellent writing, and I enjoyed the
watchdog-type stories.”
The Special Section Award was
for the newspaper’s 2019 Impact
Awards, with recognition to Schindler
and designer Marcos Ramos.
The judges wrote, “Nice concept of
honoring those that have impacted
the community.”
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