Catholic Courier newspaper wins top honors in U.S., Canada

June 2, 2008

El Mensajero Católico also wins several awards

The Catholic Courier and its sister Spanish-language-publication, El Mensajero Católico, received a total of 13 awards — including the highest journalistic honor presented by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada — during the association’s annual convention in Toronto, Canada, May 28-30. The honors are for work published in 2007.

“The judges confirmed what I have long believed,” said Bishop Matthew Clark, who is publisher of the newspaper. “The Catholic Courier is an excellent newspaper that truly serves the Diocese of Rochester and its people consistently well with breaking news, interesting features and helpful information. I also am grateful that El Mensajero Catolico is receiving the recognition it deserves.”

Awards won by the Catholic Courier are:

First Place for General Excellence among diocesan newspapers above 40,000 circulation.

“These were excellent stories that reflect the Catholic community in the Rochester area,” the judges remarked. “There was great photography and design. The compelling cover story topics: Catholic health-care facilities in ethical dilemma while seeking partners; a look inside the Darfur crisis; global warming’s effect on the poor. Overall, an excellent paper.

This award is judged on the basis of three consecutive issues, which are rated on a number of criteria including news content, story range and writing quality, photography and graphic design. Due to its large number of subscribers, the Courier competes in the association’s largest circulation bracket. Newspapers serving the archdioceses of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minn.; Washington, D.C.; and New York, N.Y., received second place, third place and an honorable mention, respectively, in this category.

The CPA represents six U.S. and Canadian national newspapers; 177 arch/diocesan newspapers; 231 magazines; 113 newsletters; and 49 foreign-language publications, including 15 that publish in Spanish. Collectively, its members reach more than 26 million Catholic households.

Other awards received by the Courier  are:

Third Place among all member publications in the category Individual Excellence/ Photographer/Artist for a portfolio of work by Photo Editor Mike Crupi.

Honorable mention among all newspapers in the category Best Scenic/Still Life/Weather Photo for Mike Crupi’s photograph of balloons being released during a service memorializing five Fairport teens who died in a June 2007 car accident.

Awards to El Mensajero Católico

First place among Spanish-language newspapers in the category Best News Writing — National/International for a series of articles on immigration.

First place among Spanish-language newspapers in the category Best In-Depth Analysis for “Programa ofrece cuidados de salud a migrantes” by Annette Jiménez from the October issue.

First place among all newspapers in the category Best Photo Story for “Los hispanos adoptan las Misas carasmáticas” by Crupi from the May issue.

Second place among all tabloid-sized newspapers in the category Best Front Page for the newspaper’s August, September and October 2007 issues.

Second place among Spanish-language newspapers in the category Best Feature Story for “Los hispanos adoptan las Misas carasmáticas” by Jiménez from the May issue.

Third place among all newspapers in the category Best Photo Story for Crupi’s August photo spread on Rochester’s 2007 Puerto Rican Festival.

Third place among Spanish-language newspapers in the category Best Lead Article  for “Logrando la paz con rima y razon” by Jiménez from the September issue.

El Mensajero also received three honorable mentions. Jiménez was recognized for Best News Writing-Local/Regional among Spanish-language publications for “Festival honra a los ‘pioneros ausentes’ de la comunidad” and for a portfolio of five stories in the Individual Excellence-Writer/Editor category. Crupi was cited for Best Feature photo for “Museo celebra la herencia hispana”.

The Catholic Courier is distributed to all Catholic households in the 12-county Diocese of Rochester and also is available online at www.catholiccourier.com