The Bronx Times and Bronx Times Reporter weekly newspapers won five prizes at the New York Press Association’s (NYPA) annual conference upstate last weekend — contributing to Schneps Media Group’s top finish at the contest.
Bronx Times staffers ET Rodriguez, Mayra Kalaora, Camille Botello and Emily Swanson were recognized for stories they reported and wrote in 2023 during this year’s awards weekend in Saratoga Springs on April 26-27. The NYPA awards recognize outstanding journalism produced by local newspapers throughout New York state.
“I am incredibly proud of our team for these awards and recognition by our media peers,” Schneps Media CEO Joshua Schneps said.
Rodriguez, a regular arts and culture contributor at the Bronx Times, won first place for her column “Did You Know?” — a series featuring interesting and otherwise unknown stories about the history of the Boogie Down. The judges described the column as “well-written, informative, and entertaining.”
Rodriguez contrived the “Did You Know?” herself, and reported each installment with hours of research and reporting.
Kalaora was the Bronx Times’ other first place winner in the features category, with her first-person narrative about 17-year-old twins creating an indoor navigation system for the visually impaired all while navigating their new lives in New York City. Kalaora — a former Bronx Times intern and current senior staff writer at Columbia University’s magazine “The Eye” — bonded with the twins over their shared home country of Turkey and move to New York City, allowing her feature to give readers a seat at the table during their interview.
The NYPA judges said her pieces was a “feel good story all the way around.”
Botello, the digital editor of the Bronx Times, took home two awards at last weekend’s conference — one in the news category and one for an arts feature.
She won second place in the news story category for her reporting on the local Hart Island Touchstone Coalition’s efforts to get city approval for a bereavement stone at the public cemetery — which advocates wanted to honor the memory of the people buried in unmarked graves on Hart Island. Botello’s other prize was a third place ribbon for arts coverage, with a piece about how the Ghetto Film School in the South Bronx has masterfully taught its students the craft of storytelling for almost 25 years.
Botello also received an honorable mention nod in the sports feature division, for which two stories were submitted — one about a Nike grant to encourage young girls to play sports, and another about Bronx-raised soccer player Tayvon Gray who made it pro with the New York City Football Club.
Swanson won the Bronx Times’ other prize — third place in the news story category — for her spotlight on an Allerton street vendor who had been shut down by the city four times in one month. Swanson also reported about the inconsistency of enforcement in the long-form piece, spending hours talking with community members and other vendors in Allerton about the recent busts — part of a story that has also now become a large one citywide, with even City Council members weighing in on the issue.
“This is a good community action piece on a small, but hot-button topic that is relatable to so many,” judges said about her piece.
The Bronx Times’ parent company Schneps Media took home 49 total prizes at the NYPA Better Newspaper Contest, including the highest number of contest points — 440 — of any news group in the state. The highest individual award Schneps won went to Brooklyn Paper Digital Editor Kirstyn Brendlen, who was named Writer of the Year.
“To be No. 1 in New York state is a great testament to the talent, hard work and dedication of our staff,” Schneps Media President Victoria Schneps said.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
