Rhode Island Current took the region’s top award for local election coverage by an online news outlet, and Senior Reporter Nancy Lavin received two first place awards in the annual New England Better Newspaper Competition on Saturday night.
The morning newsletter Swell earned third place in the outstanding newsletter category among online news sites at the New England Newspaper Convention held at the Portland Regency Hotel & Spa in Portland, Maine.
The competition held by the New England Newspaper & Press Association is a chance for the region’s news outlets to showcase the best efforts of their teams and share their achievements with readers. Work published between Aug. 1 2023, and July 31, 2024, was eligible.
Rhode Island Current staff received a first place award for their work covering the November 2023 special election to fill the open 1st Congressional District seat, which was won by U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo.
A total of 35 candidates turned in paperwork declaring their intention to run, but only 15 collected the minimum 500 validated and certified signatures from voters to run in the September primary. Thirteen candidates were Democrats, including the early frontrunner, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, whose campaign was ultimately derailed by a signature scandal involving her nomination forms.
Rhode Island Current’s election coverage also looked at what shapes this congressional district made up of 19 communities. While the Democratic race drew most of the attention, the team’s coverage included why the two Republican primary candidates stayed quiet. A Primary Day blog was active with regular updates on the candidates as the team fanned out to cover the campaigns and the results that night.
Lavin won a first place award for Business/Economic reporting for her investigative profile of a solar panel company CEO accused of predatory sales tactics. Lavin outlined the loosely regulated legal and business environment that allowed the company to flourish before being sued by the Office of Attorney General and laying off a third of its staff.
An in-depth story on a small but contentious oyster farm project proposed for Tiverton’s Sapowet Cove won Lavin another first place award. Lavin examined how the proposed project illuminated the curious alliances and growing discontent surrounding Rhode Island’s aquaculture industry more broadly.
