SOUTH PORTLAND — At its annual conference held in South Portland Oct. 18, the Maine Press Association bestowed accolades on reporters, photographers, advertising staff, and designers throughout the state, including those of PenBayPilot.com, Boothbay Register and Wiscasset Newspaper.

Penobscot Bay Pilot Community Columnist Ed O'Brien was honored with second place in the Weekly 2 Division for two of his regular "This Week in Lincolnville" pieces: Worrying Times and Civility in Uncivil Times.

Todd Anderson earned second place for his video of firefighters working in extreme conditions and temperatures to save lives. Ice water technician training at Shirttail Point with Camden Fire Department

Opinion Columnist Alison McKellar won second place for her pieces, God’s time, war time, and daylight saving time and Waiting for a Sidewalk on John Street in Camden.

Pilot writer and photographer Sarah Thompson earned second place awards in two categories:

Business/economics story, with her article ‘Custom-built right here in Spruce Head, America’, and

Sports photo that appeared in the article, 'Rockland solstice event celebrates youth, family fun.'

Pilot Editorial Director Lynda Clancy earned two first place awards:

Features/lifestyle video, America's Tallship, U.S.C.G. Barque Eagle that appeared with the article, Coast Guard families, dignitaries, friends mix with cadets and crew aboard treasured training ship Eagle, and

Outdoors story, With continuity, and change, new owners ready to keep Hope Orchards in agriculture .

Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper awards

First place 

Steve Edwards, Sarah Morley and Kathy Frizzell: Best Sponsored Content, Early Bird Sale sponsored content

Susan Johns (three): News Video, “Connecting over the climate: Wiscasset,” April 29, 2024; People Photo, Welcome back to school; News Story, Rockland man grieves.

Lisa Kristoff: Critic’s Award, “The banjo, Alison Brown, and one fine band”

Second place 

Steve Edwards (three): Scenic Photo, Sea smoke over the harbor; People Photo, Early Bird sale kiss; Illustration/Graphic, Solar eclipse.

Staff: Supplement/Special Section, Summertime supplement 2024

Fritz Freudenberger (three): Feature Photo, Kid and Dad at Halloween parade; Investigative Report, Attempted land fraud; Feature Headline, “Halloween parade put the ‘boo’ in Boothbay Harbor.

Susan Johns: Political Story, “Alna selectmen rebuke resident’s remarks”

Third place 

Staff (two): Best Supplement Cover, Dining Guide 2024; Community Engagement Idea, Happy Holidays

Susan Johns: News Video, “Wheels to the water” January 22, 2025.

Candi Joneth (News Contributor): Critic’s Award, “Maine Poet Laureate honors Malaga Islanders”

Fritz Freudenberger (two): Environmental Story, “A fishermen’s trash, a scientist’s treasure” and Sports Headline, “Runners gobble up miles at Boothbay Region Turkey Trot”

Isabelle Curtis: Coverage of Minority Community Issues, “A look inside Maine’s Indigenous Domestic Violence Centers”

At the annual conference, the Bangor Daily News, Midcoast Villager, and the Houlton Pioneer Times and the Sun Journal Sunday edition weere honored by the MPA for General Excellence in print newspapers.

The Maine Monitor, Harpswell Anchor, and Island Ad-Vantages took top honors for digital General Excellence in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented Saturday night at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in South Portland, concluding a day of programming and networking for reporters, photographers, advertising staff and designers throughout the state.   

George Danby, longtime editorial cartoonist for the Bangor Daily News; the late Dennis Hoey, a respected night reporter for the Portland Press Herald; and John Ewing, a celebrated photojournalist and mentor with the Portland Press Herald for 33 years, were selected by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee as the 2025 inductees.

In the General Excellence competition for print newspapers, the Bangor Daily News was judged the best daily in Maine for the second consecutive year while the Sun Journal Sunday edition was chosen as the weekend Newspaper of the Year, also for the second consecutive year. 

The contest judges, who hailed from the New Jersey Press Association and other press associations from across the country, wrote of the Bangor Daily News: “Each issue of this newspaper had so much to read and offer … This is a textbook example on what a newspaper of the daily variety should be.”

“Sun Journal would be my pick for the winner because of its spacious, balanced, and easy-to-interpret design, and overall cohesiveness,” said the judges about the Sun Journal Sunday edition.

In the Weekly 1 division, for newspapers with less than 2,000 print circulation, the Houlton Pioneer Times, now known as The County, took top prize. “The Houlton Pioneer Times offers in-depth, well-sourced reporting and long-form enterprise pieces that explore the real impact of local news,” said judges. 

The Weekly 2 winner was Midcoast Villager, launched in September 2024 as a new publication formed by the merger of The Republican Journal, The Courier-Gazette, The Free Press, and The Camden Herald. 

 “This paper sets the standard in its first months of existence,” said the judges. “The look is clean and iconic, paying tribute to great newspapering traditions.”

Ben Meiklejohn, of the Lincoln News, won the Freedom of Information first-place award in the Weekly division, while Rose Lundy and Alexa Foust, of The Maine Monitor, took top honors in the Daily/Weekend division.

Rose Lundy, of The Maine Monitor, was named the Journalist of the Year and Fred Berry, of The Ellsworth American, was named the Advertising Person of the Year. 

Kristian Moravec, formerly of The Times Record and now at The Maine Monitor, won the Bob Drake Young Writer’s Award while Brian Robitaille, of The Maine Trust for Local News, and Paula Brewer, of the Bangor Daily News, were both recognized with the Unsung Hero of the Year Award.

A complete list of 2025 award winners will be posted next week on the MPA’s website.

The Maine Press Association (MPA), founded in 1864, is one of the oldest professional news organizations in the nation. Learn more at www.mainepressassociation.org.