Blank Slate Media newspapers took home three Better Newspaper Awards last weekend, earning plaudits for editorial quality from the New York Press Association at the trade group’s annual spring convention.
The New Hyde Park Herald Courier won third place in the Past Presidents’ Award for general excellence, Williston Times reporter Richard Tedesco earned a third place nod for Best News or Feature Series and the Great Neck News took third place for Best Headline Writing.
“It’s a welcome recognition of the hard work of our staff in putting together quality coverage for the communities we cover,” said editor and publisher Steven Blank. “It’s very gratifying to be recognized by one’s peers.”
The awards are the first won by Blank Slate Media, which began publishing in 2010.
Judges praised the editorial content of the newspapers, which are produced weekly in Blank Slate’s Williston Park offices.
“This series of articles has coverage from many different angles,” read the judge’s comments about Tedesco’s series. “The packaging with photos works well.”
The New Hyde Park Herald Courier was praised as a “strong product” with “great ads” by the judges of the Past Presidents’ Award.
And the Great Neck News won accolades for its wordplay in a headline describing the debate over whether to rename Great Neck’s Parkwood Sports Complex for Great Neck native and Olympic figure skater Sarah Hughes.
“Solid headline writing throughout, but the use of ‘Hughes’ was funny and poignant,” wrote the judges.
Blank, who bought the Great Neck News, New Hyde Park Herald Courier and Williston Times from Litmor Publications in 2010, said the awards reflect his papers’ dedication to providing daily-newspaper quality editorial coverage on a weekly publishing schedule.
“When I opened the papers three years ago, my mission was to present quality, comprehensive coverage of the communities we cover,” Blank said.
When next year’s NYPA convention comes, Blank Slate will likely have more papers in contention – the company recently opened the Manhasset Times and the Roslyn Times, expanding coverage across the North Shore.
“Newspapers get recognized in several ways,” Blank said. “One is by winning awards, and the other is by the response and growth of our readership.”
Earlier in his career, Blank worked for 10 years as a daily newspaper editor and reporter. His last reporting job was an investigative reporter for the Kansas City Star.
After leaving the Star, Blank worked as vice president at SaveMart, a then 32-store electronics business his family owned. In his three years there, he eventually took over the day-to-day store operations, learning the processes behind purchasing product and advertising for the company.
When Blank returned to the journalism in 1989, he combined his two professional areas of expertise, becoming the owner and publisher of TimesLedger Newspapers after purchasing the Bayside Times and the Little Neck Ledger . According to Blank, the media group grew to 16 newspapers covering all parts of Queens and earned more than 200 awards for reporting excellence during his time there.
In 2006, he sold the TimesLedger Newspapers to News Corp.,
Blank stayed on as editor and publisher for two more years, as the company integrated with newspapers in Brooklyn and the Bronx to form the Community Newspaper Group.
Blank’s reporter’s outlook has stayed with him, as he has become a publisher and newspaper owner.
“My philosophy has always been good journalism is good business,” he said.
Bill San Antonio contributed to this report.
