Democrat Attends NYPA Convention

By Rob Potter
SARATOGA SPRINGS — March 14, 2000 -- Nine Sullivan County Democrat staff members attended the annual New York Press Association (NYPA) spring convention over the weekend in historic Saratoga Springs – and came away with four awards.
The Democrat personnel joined hundreds of other reporters, advertising representatives, publishers, photographers and office managers from scores of NYPA-member weekly and twice-weekly newspapers from around New York State.
A total of 164 NYPA community papers submitted 3,002 entries for awards in 62 categories. All stories, photos, advertisements and other types of entries had to appear in a paper published in the year 1999. The entries were judged by members of the North Carolina Press Association in February.
The Democrat captured four awards in the contest.
Classifieds Manager Jill Conklin was named the New York Classified Advertising Network (NYSCAN) Salesperson of the Year. NYSCAN is a network of over 200 community newspapers throughout the state, with a combined classifieds circulation of over 1.5 million.
Customers who place ads with Conklin may have their ad displayed in any of the NYSCAN regions – Metro, Central and Western – or in all of the regions.
Conklin was honored last June as the NYSCAN Salesperson of the Month.
The Democrat also won a second-place award in the Best Obituaries category for the touching obituaries of county notables Francis Davis and Peter Gozza, written by Publisher Fred Stabbert III.
Reporter/Photographer Ted Waddell captured a second place prize in the category of Feature Photo – Division 2. (In many categories, the Democrat competed in Division 2, which included papers with a circulation of at least 4,001 but not more than 9,000. Other categories, though, lumped the participating newspapers together.)
Waddell’s winning photo captured Sullivan County Jail inmates as they observed a county sheriff’s deputy walk down a hallway.
The paper also captured a first place plaque in the category of Spot News Photo – Division 2. The winning photo showed hundreds of job-seekers lining up to complete an application for employment at the Town of Thompson Wal-Mart.
“A wide shot, but shows enough detail to see the different kinds of people,” the judges wrote in their comments.
While in Saratoga Springs, the Democrat members enjoyed a Friday evening dinner and gaming night at the historic Canfield Casino.
Seminars Friday and Saturday updated convention attendees about the latest trends and technology in the world of community journalism. The seminars – with topics such as “Real-Life Ethics Issues Confronting Journalists,” “Storytelling With Impact,” “The 10 Biggest Inhibitors to Ad Sales” and “Growing Circulation in 2000” – were conducted by top journalism professors, media attorneys and staff members of large, daily newspapers.
In addition to Conklin, Stabbert and Waddell, Democrat staffers Linda Anderson, Dan Hust, Chris Murphy, Sue Owens, Rob Potter and Diane Wood attended the weekend event.