EDISON, NJ - The New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (NJSPJ) will end a 15-month celebration of its 50^th anniversary with a gala dinner on Tuesday, September 14, at the Crowne Plaza, Route 1, in Edison. The dinner, which will feature addresses by past chapter presidents, will begin at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails; there will be a cash bar.

Price of the dinner is $37 per person. Those interested in attending should contact chapter treasurer Jane R. Primerano at jpdwrite@embarqmail.com. Checks can be sent to 329 Johnsonburg Road P.O. Box 511 Hope, NJ 07844-0511.

For additional information, click here.

REMINDER: This coming Monday, at 6 p.m., the NJSPJ Board, will meet at The Orchid, 455 Main Street, Metuchen. Please to join us to make/finalize some important plans for our 50^th Anniversary Celebration Sept. 14^th.

The 50^th Anniversary party will take place at the Crowne Plaza in Edison. It will feature past presidents of the chapter, including Wilson Barto, our first president. Other officers will speak about their days, challenges and sometimes hilarious jobs with the chapter.

Put the Sept. 14^th date on your calendar now.

Good food, good NJSPJ-ers, lively conversation--include yourself. Meal is only $5; the rest is paid for by the chapter.

We need to keep the Internet free, open and neutral. This is vital to ensuring that everyone can connect and share content freely, that we can access information, and visit the Web sites and say what we want online free from discrimination or interference.

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NEWARK, NJ, June 13, 2010 — “My teacher said I was a late bloomer,” said Philadelphia Daily News reporter Wendy S. Ruderman. “That’s code for ‘idiot with promise.’ ”

The self-deprecating observation drew appreciative laughter from the many journalists assembled at the Theatre Square Grill at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (PAC) for the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (NJSPJ)’s annual awards luncheon. The luncheon honored over 100 journalists in some 60 categories.

Of course, Ruderman, along with her Philadelphia Daily News colleague, Barbara Laker, had just won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for their 10-month series, ““Tainted Justice,’’ which exposed corruption in an elite narcotics squad of the Philadelphia Police Department. A self-described Jersey girl, Ruderman had grown up in the state. As the luncheon’s keynote speaker, she went on to describe her adventures in journalism that, as past president Ron Miskoff noted in her introduction, could only happen in New Jersey.

Ruderman related how, armed with a bachelor’s degree in communication from Western Maryland College, she applied for her first job at the Williamstown Plain Dealer, a small weekly paper covering Gloucester County. The interview went well, she recalled, and afterward she discovered she’d been hired as editor.

“I thought: I’m the freakin’ editor!” she laughed, not realizing at the time that the job paid only $13,000 and required her to put in an 80-hour week. She was the only full-time staff member and ended up working, not only as editor, but also as a reporter, obituary writer, critic, layout artist, and photographer. After covering countless municipal meetings, she realized she had yet to “hit the big-time.”

So, she applied and was accepted to the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. “How I ever got in is still a mystery to me,” she said modestly, remembering that while all the new students arrived with a copy of The New York Times tucked under their arms, she had The NY Daily News.

After graduating in 1997, Ruderman spent the next five years on press row covering the Statehouse in Trenton for several N.J. newspapers. “It was the time of my life!” she remembered with fondness. “I lived to beat the [Star-]Ledger. Whenever I saw the light on in their office, I called my sources to find out what they were working on.”

She described how, in 2002, she sat outside a Camden half-way house, waiting for convicted murderer Thomas Trantino to be released. “We didn’t want the Ledger to get the interview before us,” she said. “So we hung out at the Camden facility all night, drinking tons of coffee just to stay awake.”

That morning, Trantino rapped on the window of Ruderman’s car just as she was on the phone with her mother. “He gets into my car and he sees littered cups and newspapers all over the floor. ‘Your car is a mess,’ he said and I replied, ‘And you’re a cop killer.’”

Ruderman ended up taking Trantino to her own home for the interview where he talked about Asian art with her husband. “My neighborhood was filled with cops!” she said, struck my her own boldness, but she got the story.

All of which prepared her to tackle the story of her career when she heard from a police informant gone sour about a squad of narcotic cops who were breaking into mom-and-pop stores and bodegas claiming suspicion of drug sales.

“They’d raid the places, smash the video cameras and take whatever they wanted: money, candy, cell phones. They terrorized the immigrant store owners who were afraid to speak up, afraid the police wouldn’t come to their aid if they really needed them. They were being robbed and violated by people who were supposed to protect them.”

Ruderman said that she and her colleague, Barbara Laker, dug through mountains of court records and knocked on hundreds of doors. Laker was even slapped by one interview subject, a female drug dealer. But in the end, thanks to — in Ruderman’s words — “two neurotic and crazy women reporters, one overworked editor and one understanding husband,” the “Tainted Justice” series resulted in several officer suspensions and an FBI probe, as well as the review of dozens of criminal cases.

The most important part of the experience, said Ruderman, was that “the people at the heart of the series trusted us with their stories.”

The Stuart and Beverly Awbrey Award

Jane Primerano (right) presents the 2009 Stuart and Beverley Awbrey Award to Amy Rosen of The News Transcript.

This year’s Stuart and Beverly Awbrey Award for civic journalism went to The News Transcript of Greater Media Newspapers which covers western Monmouth County. The News Transcript came to the aid of the Samaritan Center food pantry in Manalapan with published articles, informational sessions, and a benefit concert at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park on Dec. 13.

In accepting the award, writer Amy Rosen said that such a community effort gets reporters and editors “off the assignment desk and out into the field… We did whatever we could to make the coverage more meaningful.”

The Awbrey award is named for the husband and wife team whose decades-long ownership and operation of the Cranford Chronicle made the 100-year old weekly a model for how local newspapers can make a unique contribution to the civic life of a community.

The Tim O’Brien Award

Terrence T. McDonald displays Tim O’Brien Award.

The 2010 Tim O’ Brien Award for best investigative reporting using the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) went to the weekly newspaper, The Montclair Times, for its investigative series titled, “Where’s Your Money Going?” Reported by Terrence T. McDonald, who spent months of researching public records, the series investigated municipal employee salaries and sick leave, and other public expenditures of the town of Montclair.

“I was honored to be chosen as the recipient of this award,” said McDonald. “Now more than ever the country needs investigative journalists digging into the financial records of public entities to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent honestly. I thank everyone at The Montclair Times – especially my editor, Mark Porter, and managing editor, Lillian Ortiz – for allowing me to spend the time necessary to produce such investigatory stories.”

The Wilson Barto Awards

• On Wendy S. Ruderman: Interview on NPR’s Fresh Air
• Daily News Wins Pulitzer
• On the Awbrey Award Winner
• On the Tim O’Brien Winner

To see the Gallery of Winners, click here.

Please join us at the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists [NJSPJ] Excellence in Journalism Awards program, which will be held Sunday, June 13, 3 p.m., at the Theatre Square Grill, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (PAC), 1 Center Street- Newark, New Jersey. There will be a cash bar. Wendy S. Ruderman, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News, will be the keynote speaker. She will talk about her work as an investigative reporter.

The cost is $20 per person. Please RSVP to Sue Livio [Slivio@starledger.com ] by June 5 to let us know whether you plan to attend, and if so, whether you will be bringing guests. Send a check made payable to NJ-SPJ to Jane Primerano, our Treasurer, at PO Box 511, Hope, NJ 07844.

Entries must have been published or broadcast during the calendar year of January 1 to December 31‚ 2009.

WILSON BARTO AWARDS FOR FIRST YEAR REPORTERS

DAILY NEWSPAPERS

• First Place: Jake Remaly, Daily Record
• Second Place: Sarah Rahman, The Jersey Journal

WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS

• First Place: Jason Braff, Town News
• Second Place: Lina Khouri, The Montclair Times
• Third Place: Jacob Kamaras, Eliyahu Publications

THE 2009 STUART AND BEVERLEY AWBREY AWARD

Given for Community Weekly Newspaper Journalism

• The News Transcript, Greater Media Newspapers “Greater Media Benefit Aids Local Food Pantry” Writer: Amy Rosen
• Honorable Mention: South Bergenite, Rutherford, NJ For a series about fire dangers on playgrounds. Writer: Jaimie Winters

THE 2007 TIM O’ BRIEN AWARD

Given for best investigative reporting using the NJ Open Public Records Act [OPRA]

• The Montclair Times “Where’s Your Money Going?” Reporter: Terrence T. McDonald

This year’s winners in daily and weekly newspaper, design, photography, magazine, newsletter, broadcast, and online categories:

DAILY NEWSPAPERS

DEADLINE REPORTING

• First Place: The Record Staff “Greed, Betrayal, Shame”
• Second Place: Oshrat Carmiel, Dunstan McNichol, Pat Wechsler, Bloomberg News “Dwek Laundered $3 million in FBI Sweep Ensnaring Hoboken Mayor”
• Third Place: The Record Staff “Miracle on the Hudson”

SERIES WRITING AND REPORTING

• First Place: Carolyn Davis, The Philadelphia Inquirer “The Hidden Home Front: The Impact of War on Military Families”
• Second Place: Todd B. Bates, Asbury Park Press “Is it worth going green?”
• Third Place: John R.D. Celock, Westfield Patch “Society for Work Group”

ENTERPRISE REPORTING

• First Place: Abbott Koloff, Daily Record “In the Minority”
• Second Place: Mark Mueller, Tomas Dinges, The Star-Ledger “The Wounds Within: Suicide in the Military”
• Third Place: Meredith Mandell, Leslie Barbaro, The Record. “Desperation Street”

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

• First Place: Peter Sampson, Mike Kelly, The Record “Hal Turner - FBI’s extremist insider”
• Second Place: Matt Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer “The promise and the price: How the state takeover failed Camden”

BUSINESS REPORTING

• First Place: Terrence Dopp, Bloomberg News “N.J. leads municipal bond downgrades as aid shrinks”
• Second Place: Kevin G. DeMarrais, The Record “Harvesting Tourism Dollars”
• Third Place: Erik Ortiz, Press of Atlantic City “Shore home sales show signs of life”

EDITORIAL WRITING

• First Place: Josh Gohlke, The Philadelphia Inquirer “On New Jersey Nonsense”
• Second Place: Alfred P. Doblin, The Record “Guilty as Charged”

FEATURE WRITING

• First Place: Wayne Parry, Associated Press “After dodging Saddam & bombs, Iraqi metal band is rockin’ in the free world”
• Second Place: TIE – Matt Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Recipe for Responsibility”
  Second Place: Leslie Kwoh, The Star-Ledger, “Winston Trumpet, Jersey City businessman, refocuses a once-blurry life to help others”
• Third Place: Amy Rosenberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Pool of rock”

BEST REGION/STATE NEWS

• First Place: George Anastasia, The Philadelphia Inquirer “A Shore Tradition: Wiseguys’ Summer Getaways”
• Second Place: Dunstan McNichol, Bloomberg News “New Jersey Pays Goldman Sachs for Swaps on Nonexistent Bonds”
• Third Place: Jonathan Tamari, The Philadelphia Inquirer “No Pedicure, No Wax”

HEALTH, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

• First Place: Todd B. Bates, Asbury Park Press “Water pollution signs sought”
• Second Place: Wayne Parry, Associated Press “Science collides with ‘Flipper factor’ in debate over whether to move NJ’s river dolphins”
• Third Place: Joe Tyrrell, NewJersey Newsroom.com “U.S. no longer The Leader in solar power”

EDITORIAL CARTOONING

• First Place: Mike Scott, NewJerseyNewsroom.com “Corzine’s Undertaking”
• Second Place: Jimmy Margulies, The Record “Tiger Woods Please Be Seated”
• Third Place: Mike Scott, NewJerseyNewsroom.com “Dick Cheney’s Executive Bathroom”

COLUMN WRITING

• First Place: Annette John-Hall, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Weak response to beatings at high school”
• Second Place: Monica Yant Kinney, The Philadelphia Inquirer “For gambling addict, New Jersey’s list is a loser”
• Third Place: Monica Yant Kinney, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Camden, at last, on cusp of great riverfront potential”

PROFILE WRITING

• First Place: Mike Daigle, Daily Record “Something Bigger”
• Second Place: Cynthia Burton, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Christie Enjoys a Good Argument”
• Third Place: Jason Nark, Philadelphia Daily News “Rocky & The Kid”

SPORTS REPORTING

• First Place: Kathleen Carroll and Jeff Roberts, The Record “Sports gear scam hits high schools”
• Second Place: Aaron Kuriloff, Bloomberg News ”Cowboys under 60-yard-long HDTV signaling player-pay showdown”
• Third Place: Manish Mehta, The Star- Ledger “His own man”

BEST LOCAL NEWS

• First Place: Jan Hefler, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Ex-Owner Knew Daycare Was Contaminated”
• Second Place: Matt Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Office By Day, Refuge By Night”
• Third Place: Todd Bates, Asbury Park Press ”Home Rule A Hurdle For Tax-Cutters”

OPINION WRITING

• First Place: Joe Mysak, Bloomberg News “Nobody Gets Fired Except Governors in Recessions”

REVIEW WRITING

• First Place: David Patrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer “The high – and low – notes of opera in South Jersey”
• Second Place: David Patrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer “A foray into Baroque”
• Third Place: William Westhoven, Daily Record, “History was never so enjoyable as in ‘1776’”

HEADLINE WRITING

• First Place: Mariam Tarver, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Top shelf meets bottom line”
• Second Place: Addam Schwartz, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Beneath it all, optimism”
• Third Place: Bob Caughron, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Her crusts are definitely upper”

ESSAYS

• First Place: Jennifer V. Hughes, The Record, ”A Valentine’s Day Essay on (very) Young Love.”

DAILY FEATURE PAGE DESIGN

• First Place: Lisa Dalie, The Record “Travel Section Feature Page”
• Second Place: Elaine Isaacson, The Record “Front Page Better Living”

FRONT PAGE LAYOUT

• First Place: Robert Townsend and Bill Becerra, The Record
• Second Place: Kevin Davis, Daily Record
• Third Place: Scott Sturgis, The Philadelphia Inquirer

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC

• First Place: Bill Becerra and R.L. Rebach, The Record “Sports page Graphic--Yankee Stadium”

SPORTS PHOTO

• First Place: Ron Cortes, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Two-out lightning”
• Second Place: Chris Pedota, The Record “Monkey off his back/Legends of the fall”
• Third Place: Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Surfer Dude”

FEATURE PHOTOJOURNALISM

• First Place: Leslie Barbaro, The Record, “Desperation Street”
• Second Place: Michael S. Wirtz, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Peco’s Aerial Line School”
• Third Place: Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Connecting”

PHOTOJOURNALISM SPOT NEWS

• No award given.

WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS

BUSINESS REPORTING

• First Place: Martin C. Daks, NJBIZ “The Cost of Corruption: $1B”
• Second Place: Meghan O’Connell, Suburban News “A Growth Industry: One hand feeds another in northwest Bergen County”
• Third Place: Beth Fitzgerald, NJBIZ “Tapping Jobless Pay to Start a Business”

PROFILE WRITING

• First Place: Josh Lipowsky, The Jewish Standard “A Hidden Child No More”
• Second Place: Jamie Saxon, US 1 Newspaper, “Emily Mann”
• Third Place: John Soltes, The Leader “Honor, Duty, Fidelity”

ENTERPRISE REPORTING

• First Place: John Soltes, The Leader “Williams Center…A phoenix rising”
• Second Place: Phillip DeVencentis, Suburban News “Missions adapt to fluctuating flocks”
• Third Place: Josh Lipowsky, The Jewish Standard “Day School Daze”

FEATURE WRITING

• First Place: Jaimie Julia Winters, South Bergenite “Recalling Woodstock: 40 Years Later”
• Second Place: Lois Goldrich, The Jewish Standard “Untangling the Knot”
• Third Place: Al Sullivan, Bayonne Community News “Eight Brothers Served, One Never Came Back”

LOCAL NEWS

• First Place: Lois Goldrich and Josh Lipowsky, The Jewish Standard “Libya in our backyard?”
• Second Place: Staff, Verona-Cedar Grove Times “A Century on Call: 100 Years of the Verona Fire Department”
• Third Place: Harry Trumbore, Andrea Hughes and Erin Patricia Griffiths, The Item of Millburn and Short Hills “High School Parking Lot Assault Case”

REVIEW WRITING

• First Place: John Soltes, The Montclair Times “Mamet Uses Ultimate Four-Letter Word”
• Second Place: Mark S. Porter, The Montclair Times “Inscribed With A Poison Pen: It’s Noose to Me”
• Third Place: Miriam Rinn, The Jewish Standard “Play Captures Kaye’s ‘Signature Charm’ “

SPORTS REPORTING

• First Place: rian Smith, The Montclair Times “A Hull of a First Year”
• Second Place: Bill Alden, Town Topics “PU Crew Coach Jordan Rides Off Into the Sunset”
• Third Place: Brian Farrell, The Ridgewood News “Brotherly Impact”

HEALTH‚ SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

• First Place: Meghan O’Connell, Suburban News “Reservoir Purchase Leads to Watershed of Woes”
• Second Place: Dan Prochilo, The Montclair Times, “All Charged Up”
• Third Place: Dan Prochilo, The Montclair Times, “Hawk Nearly Nabs Tiny Dog”

SERIES WRITING AND REPORTING

• First Place: Meghan O’Connell, Christina Hernandez and Marsha Stoltz, Franklin Lake/Oakland Park Suburban News “Special Report: Your Library at Work”
• Second Place: Mark J. Bonamo, Hackensack Chronicle “Hackensack Police Turmoil”
• Third Place: Daniel O’Keefe, Michael Lamendola, Brian Anderson, D.R. Foster, and Corey Klein, South Bergenite “A Week in the Life” Series

REGIONAL OR STATE NEWS

• First Place: Lois Goldrich, The Jewish Standard “Jewish Women and Politics: Perfect Together”
• Second Place: Christina Hernandez, Suburban News “In the Schools: Virtual Studies are ‘Here to Stay’”
• Third Place: Corey Klein, South Bergenite “EnCap’s Insurance Comes Through for Landfills Closure”

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

• First Place: Al Sullivan, Bayonne Community News “Chiappone Probe Goes to Grand Jury”
• Second Place: John Soltes, Susan C. Moeller and Alexis Tarrazi, The Leader “Dirty Diner Deal”
• Third Place: Seth Mandel, Eliyahu Publications “Fifth Avenue Terror Funders Have NJ Ties”

EDITORIAL CARTOONING

• First Place: .E. Cohen, The Montclair Times “Never Forget”
• Second Place: John Rosa, The Leader “Happy Halloween!”
• Third Place: John Rosa, The Leader “You Don’t Have to Go Home, But You Can’t Stay Here”

COLUMN WRITING

• First Place: Seth Mandel, Eliyahu Publications “A Better Way for Palestine”
• Second Place: Mike Daly, Ridgewood News “Stuck in Park, In Need of a Jump-Start”
• Third Place: Darius Amos, Hackensack Chronicle “McKnight’s Tale of Success”

EDITORIAL

• First Place: John Soltes, The Leader “ ‘Dirty’ Was the Right Word to Use”
• Second Place: Mark S. Porter, The Montclair Times “Skin Color”
• Third Place: Rebecca Boroson, The Jewish Standard “You Cannot Legislate Loyalty”

DEADLINE REPORTING

• First Place: John Soltes, Alexis Tarrazi and Susan C. Moeller, The Leader “Feds Crack Down on ‘Corruption’ in Meadowlands”
• Second Place: Karen F. Mrnarevic, Pascack Valley Community Life “40 Weapons Seized From Resident’s Home”
• Third Place: Megan Burrow, Pascack Valley Community Life “Public Hearing Draws Hundreds”

INFO GRAPHICS

• First Place: Meghan Shapiro, Joe St. Arney, NJBIZ, “Making The Grade”
• Second Place: Corey Klein, South Bergenite “What $100 Will Get You at Xanadu”

FRONT PAGE LAYOUT

• First Place: John Soltes and Winie Varillas, The Leader “Earth Day Issue”
• Second Place: Jennifer Webber and Meghan Shapiro, NJBIZ “Business and the Back Alley”
• Third Place: Jerry Szubin, The Jewish Standard “The Richard Wagner Problem”

FEATURE PAGE DESIGN

• First Place: Joe St. Arney, NJBIZ, “Intaxicated”
• Second Place: Joan Finn, The Montclair Times “The World is a Wondrous Place”
• Third Place: Kathryn A. Burger and Christina Scotti, Pascack Valley Community Life “First Grade Geometry = Shape Creatures”

SPOT NEWS PHOTOJOURNALISM

• First Place: Scott D. Longfield, Two Rivers Times “Memory Lanes--Just A Memory!”
• Second Place: Nick Messina, The Gazette “Hawthorne Blaze on February 6”
• Third Place: Adam Anik, Verona-Cedar Groves Times “An Entire Community Grieves A Fallen Friend”

FEATURE PHOTOJOURNALISM

• First Place: Al Sullivan, Bayonne Community News “Autism: A Lot to be Thankful For”
• Second Place: Colleen Reynolds, The Leader “Stretching It Out”
• Third Place: John Soltes, The Leader “Crucifix in Lisbon, Portugal”

SPORTS PHOTOJOURNALISM

• First Place: W.L. Bill Allen Jr., The Leader “The Boxer”
• Second Place: Sean M. Simmons, The The Two River Times “Haskell at Monmouth Park”

HEADLINE WRITING

• First Place: John Soltes, The Leader “Inspecting Cracks in the Glass Ceiling”
• Second Place: Joe St. Arney, NJBIZ “Silent Nights in Store”
• Third Place: Brett Freeman, Town Journal “Of Ice and Men”

MAGAZINES

REPORTING

• First Place: Nyier Abdou, Inside Jersey “Medical Marijuana”
• Second Place: Mark Mueller, Inside Jersey “Death by Train”
• Third Place: 2009 Mark Hrywna, Craig Causer, Paul Clolery, The Nonprofit Times “The Nonprofit Times 100”

BUSINESS REPORTING

• First Place: Mark Hrywna, The Nonprofit Times “Special Report: 2009 salary survey”
• Second Place: Karl Vilacoba, InTransition Magazine “Reinventing the Wheel”
• Third Place: Ron Panko, A.M. Best Co. “What’s Your Agency Worth?”

FEATURE & PROFILE WRITING

• First Place: Christopher Hann, Drew Magazine “On the Inside”
• Second Place: John T. Ward, Drew Magazine “The day she should have died”

OPINION WRITING

• First Place: Paul Clolery, The Non-Profit Times “Federal Two-Step”
• Second Place: Paul Clolery, The Non-Profit Times “Right Message, Wrong Messenger”

RADIO

ENTERPRISE

• First Place: Rachel Katz, WWFM, The Classical Network “Views and Voices, January 24, 2009”
• Second Place: Rachel Katz, WWFM, The Classical Network “Views and Voices, July 11, 2009”

TELEVISION

NEWS

• First Place: Walt Kane, Anthony Cocco, News 12 New Jersey “College Drinking”
• Second Place: Walt Kane, Anthony Cocco, News 12 New Jersey “Church Conflict”
• Third Place: Roxanne Evans, News 12 New Jersey “Health Barn”

ENTERPRISE

• First Place: Marie DeNoia Aronsohn, Peggy George Micucci, Briana Vannozzi, Mark DiPietro and Kirk Sohr, New Jersey Network “Springsteen at 60”
• Second Place: Sandra King, New Jersey Network “Due Process: Crisis in the Cellblock”
• Third Place: Walt Kane, Anthony Cocco, News 12 New Jersey, “Transparency Test”

NEWSLETTER

• First Place: Greg Trevor, Carla Cantor, John Chadwick, Karen Smith, Rutgers Today
• Second Place: Caroline Saucer, Best Week “AIG Effect—A year later and beyond”
• Third Place: Tony Mottola, Linda Lobdell, Mitchell Seidel, Jersey Jazz

INTERNET

MEDIA-AFFILIATED BLOGS

• First Place: Amy Rosenberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer “Downashore”
• Second Place: Michael Lewis, Big Apple Soccer.com “Offside Remarks”

INDEPENDENT BLOGS

• First Place: Geoffrey Wertime, “Gay in Public”

INTERNET PAGE DESIGN

• First Place: The Jewish Standard
• Second Place: Michael Lewis, Charlie Cuttone and Linda Cuttone, BigAppleSoccer.com “Red Bulls Coverage”
• Third Place: Trish Russoniello, Redbankgreen.com “Redbankgreen 2009”

INTERNET PUBLICATION, NEWS COVERAGE

• First Place: John T. Ward, Redbankgreen.com “Redbankgreen.com”
• Second Place: Charlie Cuttone, Big AppleSoccer.com “Big AppleSoccer.com”
• Third Place: Paul Clolery and Mary Hrywna, The Non-Profit News “Turmoil at the DMA”

Need some guidance? Not sure if you should stay or if you should go? Want to help aspiring journalists get their start?

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Mentor Match-Up program is here to help.

SPJ’s Mentor Match-up aims to promote great journalism by introducing journalists of different experience levels and similar interests. Participating journalists are encouraged to communicate by e-mail‚ phone and occasional personal visits. SPJ helps make a match but leaves it to program participants to decide the nature and frequency of their communications.

The program is open only to SPJ members. Journalists wanting to serve as mentors must have more than five years of professional experience. Journalists who want mentoring must have less than five years of experience.

Sounds like something you’re interested in?

Log on to www.spj.org/mentor.asp for more information

PLEASE PASS ON AND POST IN NEWSROOMS!

As part of its long support for freedom of information in New Jersey‚ the New Jersey Chapter of SPJ has since 2002 distributed more than 1‚000 wallet cards providing useful summaries of the main provisions of the state’s two main laws concerning open records and open meetings.

The cards – one covering the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) and one covering the Open Public Meetings Act (“The Sunshine Law’) – are provided free as a handy reference for journalists‚ public officials and the public.