The Press Club of Long Island inducted one of Schneps Media’s editors into the Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame and bestowed 18 awards for editorial excellence on seven of the new group’s publications.
Timothy Bolger, who is editor in chief of the Long Island Press and Dan’s Papers, earned HOF status for scoops that sparked reforms such as helping expose the heroin epidemic, revealing that some judges refused to hear certain traffic camera cases, and auditing nearly 200 localities responsiveness to records requests. The Press, Dan’s Papers, Fire Island News, Great Neck News, Port Washington News, Behind The Hedges and the New Hyde Park Herald Courier won six first-place awards, five second-place prizes, and seven third place honors.
“This would not have been possible without the support of my tireless colleagues,” Bolger told the crowd during the PCLI awards ceremony on June 5 at The Fox Hollow in Woodbury. “As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Keep shining that light.”
Bolger, who was previously PCLI’s vice president and chaired its Freedom of Information Committee, is the fourth Press journalist to be named to the group’s Hall of Fame. He follows Shelly Feuer Domash, whose expose led to three Nassau County police commanders being convicted of a coverup conspiracy; John Kominicki, the Press’ late publisher emeritus who was inducted for his leadership of Long Island Business News; and Karl Grossman, a Press columnist who won a Polk Award for the paper in the 1970s and founded PCLI. The group is one of the most active local chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists, which advocates for First Amendment rights, furthers ethical standards, and trains its members.
Bolger also won first place in the weather reporting category for his story “LI Still Holds NY Rain Record 10 Years Later” about the anniversary of 13 inches of rain that fell on Islip during a three-hour span on Aug.13, 2014. He shared a third-place prize with Michael Malaszczyk in the crime category for their story “Serial Killer Suspect Rex Heuermann Charged with Murders of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, Alleging New M.O.” And Press contributor Claude Solnik won second place in the business category with his story “How to Succeed in Opera…Without Singing a Note.”
Dan’s Papers earned three PCLI honors. “Concrete evidence of environmental malfeasance emerges like a Dune sandworm in a deeply reported survey extending back many years,” the judges wrote in awarding the publication first place in the investigative category for Alec Rich’s story “Sand Wars: Has a State Agency Stacked The Deck to Protect Sand Mines?”
The paper also won first place for coverage of race and diversity with its Shinnecock Voices column authored by members of the Southampton Native American tribe, including Margo Thunderbird, Charlotte Roe, Asia Cofield, and Chenae Bullock. Dan’s Papers additionally won second place in the entertainment category for Maria Orlando Pietromonaco’s story “Carolyn Iannone’s Love Lane Kitchen: What Happens When You Accidentally Buy a Restaurant.“
Taylor K. Vecsey, editor in chief of Behind The Hedges, won second place in the real estate reporting category for her story “Breaking New Ground and Filling a Home With Joy.”
Three of Schneps’ weekly newspapers covering communities on the North Shore of Nassau won a combined total of 10 PCLI awards, including first place in the humor column category with Paul DiSclafani’s story “The Other ‘R’ Word” about his unexpectedly busy retirement.
“‘This democracy thing’” shouldn’t have to be defended,” the judges wrote in awarding Executive Editor Steve Blank first place in the editorial category for his piece titled “Who do town board GOPers work for?” that ran in the Great Neck News. “But in this case, the public — and the electeds who serve them — must be reminded of free-speech rights. A well-argued and effective editorial.”
Taylor Herzlich of the New Hyde Park Herald Courier also won first place in the breaking news category for her story “NHP Squatters evicted after 1 year.”
“Amazing amount of context provided on a bust that normally would have been given short shrift,” the judges wrote. “Someone has first-rate institutional knowledge.”
Great Neck News columnist George Marlin won second place in the column category and Great Neck News reporter Cameryn Oakes won second place for government/politics reporting with her story “Dems blast Blakeman trans ban.”
The Great Neck News also won third place in the best community weekly category and Oakes won third place in the reporter of the year category, the judges noting: “This writer knows how to tell a story, regardless of the type of story.”
The Port Washington News won three third-place awards. Michael Lewis won in the sports category for his story “Trip to the Final Four.” Christy Hinko won in the entertainment category with “Telling A Personal Story.” And Cameryn Oakes and Hannah Devlin won in the breaking news category with “Five dead in Syosset family murder-suicide.”
And the Fire Island News won third place in the travel category with Lisa Daglian’s story “Take The Train This Summer, The More Relaxing Way to Get to Fire Island.”
