The Gatepost wins journalism awards from NENPA

Courtesy of Sophia Harris

By Dylan Pichnarcik News Editor Past and current members of The Gatepost’s editorial board won five awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Better Newspaper Competition, on March 29. NENPA is the professional trade organization for newspapers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island. NENPA serves over 450 newspapers throughout the region. According to the NENPA website, the organization's goal is “to help newspaper professionals successfully fulfill their mission to engage and inform the public while navigating and ultimately thriving in today’s evolving media landscape.” Sophia Harris and Maddison Behringer, class of ’25, Adrien Gobin, class of ’26, and Adam Levine, class of ’24, were recognized at the New England Newspaper Convention in Portland, Maine for work they produced during the 2023-24 academic year. Harris, The Gatepost’s Editor-in-Chief and primary author of the weekly Gatepost Editorial, won second place in the category of editorial writing for the editorial, “Does the Refer a Ram program promote equity?” published on Feb. 23, 2024. Harris said winning the award “felt incredibly fulfilling to me.” She said the entire staff of The Gatepost spends countless hours each week working hard to produce a weekly newspaper. “Being recognized for that hard work solidifies not only the importance of journalism but the importance of working with such a dedicated and collaborative team.” Harris said she is most proud of the relationships she has made while on the staff. “I am truly inspired every day by my peers and fellow student journalists. When I graduate in May, I will look back on how impactful they were to me.” She said editorial writing is important because it brings together editors from each section to collaborate and come to one decision and pose a possible solution. Ryan O’Connell, associate editor for The Gatepost, assists in writing the weekly Gatepost Editorial. He said it is “extremely thrilling” to have won second place. O’Connell said he helps convey the ideas of the Editorial Board into the weekly editorial and ensures it is well-researched and provides a strong argument. He said the editorial that received the award provided fuel for discussion about the “Refer a Ram” program. Behringer, also a Gatepost associate editor, said everyone on the editorial board should be proud of the award. “Everyone who was in the meeting talking about the points and what they saw wrong with the ‘Refer a Ram’ program contributed to that win.” First place was awarded to The Equinox of Keene State College and third place was awarded to The Daily Campus of the University of Connecticut. Behringer won second and third place in the feature photo category. Her photograph, “Cosmic Connections!” which appeared on the front page of The Gatepost’s April 12, 2024 issue, won second place and her photograph, “Saying good-pie to another year,” which appeared on the front page of The Gatepost’s May 3, 2024 issue, won third place. Behringer said she is happy that the work published by The Gatepost continues to be recognized by professional organizations such as NENPA. “I feel like it’s a win for everybody because of the collaboration and the hours we put in on Thursdays. So it’s just nice to see that our work is getting recognized,” she said. Behringer said this is her third year winning an award for photography or design, something she never expected when she first joined The Gatepost. The first place award in the category of feature photos went to The Equinox of Keene State College. Adam Levine, class of ’24 and the former sports editor of The Gatepost, won second place in the category of sports game story for his article, “Women’s basketball wins conference title in record-breaking season.” He said winning the award was “the cherry on top of a great two years and all the hard work that I knew I put in.” Levine said a former sports editor for The Gatepost, Lauren Campbell, class of ’14, taught him to write “beyond the box score,” a strategy he enjoys. He said he incorporated more than just the winnings into his storytelling. “I tried to talk to players beyond just, ‘How'd you feel about scoring?’” He said he tried to put more of an emphasis on the impact of the game on the players. “I felt like that really came through in the article about the championship,” he said. Levine also credited the work of Photo & Design Editor Adrien Gobin for a spread that ran with the article, “Celebratory Champions.” He said Gobin “made a phenomenal spread and took phenomenal photos, which really brought the article to life … which shared the fold with my story and also received an award.” In the category of sports game story, first place was awarded to The Quinnipiac Chronicle and third place was awarded to The Daily Campus of the University of Connecticut. Gobin’s “Celebratory Champions” spread won third place in the category of photo series. Gobin said she is grateful for Levine’s article. She said without it she would not have had the opportunity to create the corresponding spread. Gobin said winning the award was “amazing.” She said, “It was a really cool experience. Maddi [Behringer] taught me how to make spreads, so it was a full-circle moment for us.” In the photo series category, first place was awarded to The Huntington News of Northeastern University, and second place was awarded to The Vermont CYNIC of the University of Vermont. Gatepost Advisor Desmond McCarthy said, ”I’m so proud of everyone whose work was recognized by NENPA. The Gatepost’s culture of journalistic excellence, professionalism, and commitment to serving the Framingham State community is so admirable and it’s a privilege to be your advisor.” [ Editor’s Note: Sophia Harris is the Editor-in-Chief for The Gatepost. Maddison Behringer and Ryan O’Connell are Associate Editors for The Gatepost. Adrien Gobin is a Photos & Design Editor for The Gatepost. Desmond McCarthy is the advisor for The Gatepost. Liz Banks is the Assistant Advisor for The Gatepost. ]