The Batavian received multiple awards over the weekend from the New York Press Association at the organization's annual spring conference in Saratoga Springs, including a first-place award and a third-place award for its audience development promotions.
The Batavian's first place award was its campaign promoting its new logo, an eagle modeled on the eagle atop the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Monument (Upton Monument) in Batavia. The Batavian held eagle-drawing contests for young people at three events in 2023 -- Juneteenth, a Batavia Muckdogs game, and the Genesee County Fair. The winner of each contest received a guitar.
The judges said of the promotion, "This promotion was a cute and fun way to show pride in the community and the newspaper while inviting young people to show their creativity by drawing eagles in an art competition."
The promotion was a joint effort of The Batavian's entire staff, Publisher Howard Owens, Creative Manager Lisa Ace, News Editor Joanne Beck, and Publication Assistant Kara Richenberg.
Second place in the category went to The Highlands Current for a promotion involving ice cream, and The Batavian received third place in the category for its initial promotion of Early Access Pass using retro cartoons of people reading newspapers on the theme of "don't be the last to know."
The judges said of the promotion, "This presentation made this judge think about Dick Tracy comic strips for their color, boldness, and terse but effective dialogue. The message was quite clear, attractive and interesting."
The campaign was created by Owens and Ace.
Beck received second place for Investigative/In-Depth Reporting. Beck was honored for her ongoing and thorough coverage of Ellicott Station. Beck broke the news that contrary to promises, the apartment complex would not be "workforce housing" (according to the definitions of Housing and Urban Development) as initially promised by the developer and would more accurately be called "very low-income housing," with tenants able to qualify with federal housing assistance vouchers. She was also the first local reporter to inform the community that Savarino Companies, the developer, was going out of business over a dispute with the state on another project. It seemed then that Ellicott Station development was stalled a long way from completion (Savarino has since resumed construction). No other news outlet has provided the community with as much information and detail about Ellicott Station.
The judges, "This entry includes extensive reporting on a local apartment development. The stories include great detail on information the community was likely very interested to learn, including the developments that took place over time. The reporter and The Batavian team clearly dove in to this topic, covering it from the early stages and even through to the final result."
Owens received a third-place award in the Feature Photo category for his shot of then-eleven-month-old Ezra Wheeler and his first visit to Santa at Christmas in the city.
The judges said, "This is absolutely precious! Baby Ezra is mesmerized by Santa ... and the Jolly Old Elf seems equally enthralled with the baby. Great work!"
Feature Photo was among the most competitive -- most entries -- categories in the contest, according to the judges.
Mark Gutman, the Batavia Daily News, won first place for a photo he took at Wings Over Batavia.
Nick Sabato, a former sports writer for The Batavian and is now sports editor for the Niagara Gazette, won second place for Sports Writer of the Year.
Other online-only publications to win awards include RiverheadLocal (Long Island) and The Examiner (Westchester).
