Three members of the Niagara Gazette newsroom were recognized with awards in the New York Press Association’s 2023 Better Newspaper Contest.
Reporter Mark Scheer, who took home first place for Investigative/In-Depth Reporting, Sports Editor Nick Sabato and reporter Rick Pfeiffer were recognized at this past weekend’s NWPS Spring Conference in Saratoga Springs.
Scheer’s first-place award was in recognition of his coverage of ongoing issues at Western Regional OTB.
The judges said of his work, “This series of entries includes reporting that goes well beyond basic reporting. The stories include well-documented facts and good use of the Freedom of Information Act.
The stories also clearly explain the roles of the Western Regional OTB to the reader, emphasizing the importance of what’s being reported. The stories also include great detail and real reporting effort. It’s clear this reporter went above and beyond to get the facts. Well done.”
In Division 1’s Spot News category, Scheer and Pfeiffer earned a second-place award for their coverage of the fatal car crash and the resulting tension it caused at the Rainbow Bridge this past November.
“The Niagara Gazette does a meticulous job of covering different sides of the same story. For an event that garnered national coverage, the publication dives deeper than many others did,” judges wrote.
Also in Division 1, Scheer and Pfeiffer were awarded third place for municipal coverage for their ongoing coverage of happenings inside Niagara Falls City Hall.
“Topics are relevant issues of community concern/interest. Reports are very well-written,” judges said. “Photographs provide a great supplement to the stories.”
Also picking up a pair of awards was Sabato who earned a second-place award in the Division 1 Sports Writer of the Year category for a selection of his work this past year.
The judges said: “This writer is a very good storyteller. After reading the lede to the Roy Kinyon story I thought I was there in the room. Good job.”
In addition, Sabato earned a second-place award in the Sports Feature category for a piece on the life of the late Lockport boxer Tommy Hicks.
“This is a really nice job of storytelling. The writer is a wordsmith. The storytelling is thorough but also very clear, and it is highly informational in its chronological unfolding. Nothing gets lost in translation, and one of the most wonderful elements of the story is the fact that it paints a really nice picture of the different sides of the “fighter” by offering feedback from his son, his friend and his former classmate. Kudos.
The recognition was no surprise to Niagara Gazette Managing Editor Matt Winterhalter.
“Having worked with Mark Scheer and Rick Pfeiffer all these years, I have a front-row seat to their dedication to the job and desire to bring our readers the best stories they can,” he said. “It’s always great to see that hard work recognized by our peers.”
Sabato were also recognized in the 2023 Best of CNHI competition, picking up Sports Columnist of the Year.