Newspaper group boasts banner year for awards Latest tally is 28 awards in state press contest Greater Media Newspapers photographer Jeff Granit won a second place for his portrait "Protegee." It was an exceptionally good year for Greater Media Newspapers, when the New Jersey Press Association awarded the group 28 awards for writing, photography, advertising and circulation excellence in its Better Newspaper Contest for 2006. Greg Bean, executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers, said it was especially gratifying that the recognition came after the newspaper group won national recognition in the Suburban Newspaper Association contest earlier this year, receiving a company record of 12 awards. The newspaper group, based in Freehold, publishes 12 weeklies, serving Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean counties, and a monthly Spanish-language newspaper. Especially pleasing on the editorial side were two premier awards for community service. The newspaper group was again recognized for the Atlanticville's coverage of the eminent domain controversy in Long Branch, which helped the issue gain national attention in Parade magazine and was instrumental in bringing the national Institute for Justice into the legal arena on the side of the embattled homeowners. Bean said he is especially proud of staff writer Christine Varno's efforts in winning both the prestigious Art Weissman Memorial Award for Coverage of Government and the Lloyd P. Burns Memorial Award for Responsible Journalism and Public Service for her work on the eminent domain issue. Varno's work on eminent domain was also recognized recently by the Suburban Newspapers of America, a national trade organization that awarded her a second place for her eminent domain coverage- a yearlong effort that was judged against the work of other similar publications across America and Canada. "I was very happy that our company was recognized for our public service work this year, because I believe it shows our commitment to the towns and cities we cover," Bean said. "Our strong showing in other editorial categories, and the wonderful showing by the advertising department, is a reflection of our determination to make these the best local newspapers in New Jersey." The awards show that smaller newspapers can compete on a national scale, as long as they have the vision, determination and teamwork to see a long project through several months or years of effort, Bean said. The editorial department also won two awards for photography (Jeff Granit and Scott Friedman), a first place for reporting and news writing (Tom Caiazza), a third place for editorial comment (Karl Vilacoba), a first place for fresh treatment of a tired topic (Jennifer Amato) and a second-place award in the same category (Chris Gaetano). The advertising department also had a banner year, winning 14 classified and three retail advertising awards. The Circulation Department also was recognized with a first place. In the retail advertising contest, the company won first-place awards for Best New Product Development and Best Single Ad Black & White. It also won a third-place award for Best Free Standing Insert. In the classified advertising contest, the group won first-place awards for Best Recruitment Ad, Best External Classified Promotion Idea, Best Classified Section, Best Telemarketing Directory, Best Agency Produced Newspaper Ad, Best Classified House Ad and Best Telemarketing Page. The group won second-place awards for Best Telemarketing Page and Best Recruitment Ad. It won third-place awards for Best External Classified Promotion Idea, Best Telemarketing Pages, Best Agency Produced Newspaper Ad and Best Recruitment Ad. In the Circulation Contest, the group won a first-place award for Carrier Retention/Recruitment Programs.