Runner-Up in Advertising, Third in General Excellence

By Will Tuell

Representatives of the Machias Valley News Observer attended the Maine Press Association’s annual dinner and banquet in Bar Harbor Oct. 19, where they accepted 21 first-, second-, and third-place awards in MPA’s “Better Newspaper” contest on behalf of the 171-year-old weekly newspaper. Publisher and Editor Pierre Little, weekly contributors Jayna Smith, Paul Sylvain, and Will Tuell, and columnist Jon Reisman attended the banquet, held at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel and Event Center in Bar Harbor. 

MVNO’s Graphics and Layout Designer Dylan Lingley and contributor Will Tuell took first-percent in the contest’s “Community Engagement Idea” category with their Valentine’s Day centerfold honoring area couples who have been married for 30 years or more. Lingley also finished first in the “Best Sponsored Content” category with his layout of the paper’s annual Veterans’ Day section honoring our area’s heroes.

Machiasport Harbormaster David Cale, who frequently collaborates with the MVNO on stories, took first-percent in the “Scenic Photo” category with a stunning photo of scallop draggers in Cobscook Bay at dawn, aptly titled “Scalloping at Dawn,” while reporter/photographer Paul Sylvain topped the “Feature Photo” category with a dramatic shot of area Revolutionary War reenactors. That photo, titled “Musketeers,” was also featured on the cover of Machias’s annual town report at the request of late town manager Bill Kitchen. 

The Machias Valley News Observer also took home six first-place awards in writing. Will Tuell took home the top prize in the “Feature Story” category for “Milling Around,” a story about his father’s Hadley Lake sawmill which the elder Tuell has been operating steadily since the mid-90s. 

Reporter Paul Sylvain netted two top literary finishes. In his first week on the beat, Sylvain reported on a house fire at Washington County dispatcher Phil Roberts’ home in Marshfield. The headline for that story, “Washington County Dispatcher Takes Call Reporting Fire at His Home,” took first in the “News Headline” category. 

Sylvain, who started the popular “From Away and Back” column in the summer of 2023, won MPA’s Community Columnist award for his sometimes funny, sometimes serious, and sometimes controversial column on returning to Downeast Maine after thirty years away. A typical Sylvain column will draw on Paul’s experiences as a journalist, court security officer, immigration law instructor, service member, musician, radio broadcaster, or substitute teacher, and somehow tie them all to life in the greater Machias area. 

Former University of Maine Machias economics and political science professor Jon Reisman came away with top honors in the “Opinion Columnist” category for his often controversial “Freedom Studies” column which frequently targets “wokeness,” “climate alarmism,” the Sunrise County Economic Council, and the state and national political scene, but also offered readers a window into Reisman’s family life as his late wife battled dementia last year. Love him or hate him, the Cooper-ite has become one of the more influential voices in Maine political opinion today and has become a staple of the paper’s editorial section in the process. 

Frozen out last year after regularly winning the MPA’s “Critic’s Award” in 2022, Machiasport freelancer Rick Heller returned to the winner’s circle with his review of A Portrait in Paint. Cartoonist Bob Bryson rounded out the slate of MVNO first-place finishes in the “Editorial Cartoon” division. 

MVNO contributors also brought home 11 second- or third-place finishes. Lingley took second in the “Campaign or Series” category with a series of ads he designed for Walls TV and Appliance; MVNO management took second-percent for its editorial pages; longtime MVNO sportswriter Phil Stuart and Will Tuell took second for their revitalization of the paper’s sports section; Tuell took second in the “Sports Headline” category with “Machias Teams Strike Gold Making 2023 A Banner Year for Downeast Sports”; and Sylvain took the runner-up spot in the “Court Story” category with his coverage of the Brackett/Dana murder trial. Lingley, Stuart, and Tuell also took second for “Sports Page Design.”

Stuart took third with his profile of Maine Baseball Hall of Famer Dickie Norton in the “Sports Profile” category, Sylvain claimed third in “Sports Photography” for his “Off to the Races” shot at a local grade-school cross country race, and Tuell took third in the “Education Story” competition with his story on Washington County Community College’s criminal justice program. 

The Machias Valley News Observer finished the night on a strong note as well, taking second-percent in “General Excellence for Advertising” and third in the overall “General Excellence” or "Newspaper of the Year" category in the small weekly division. 

Entries for MPA’s “Better Newspaper” contest covering content from April 2023 to March 2024, were compiled and submitted by MVNO management and were independently judged over the summer months by the Nebraska Press Association. 

Our sister publication, the Calais Advertiser, brought home 26 awards, including 16 first-place finishes. Contributor Jayna Smith took home ten first-place finishes, including “Best Photo in Show,” sports photo, and sports coverage, while publisher/editor Pierre Little took first in editorials. 

MPA’s dinner and awards presentation capped off a full day of activities designed to celebrate Maine journalism. Both the Calais Advertiser and Machias Valley News Observer compete in the Maine Press Association’s small weekly newspaper division.

Machias Valley News Observer contributor Will Tuell, receiving one of several first-place awards at the Maine Press Association’s “Better Newspaper” awards banquet in Bar Harbor on Oct. 19. (Photo courtesy Paul Sylvain)

Machias Valley News Observer contributor Paul Sylvain received a first-percent award certificate in the “Community Columnist” category for his weekly “From Away & Back” column, at the Maine Press Association’s Better Newspaper awards banquet in Bar Harbor on Oct. 19. (Photo courtesy Nola Sylvain)

The Machias Valley News Observer’s reporting team of Paul Sylvain (left) and Will Tuell (right). (Photo courtesy Nola Sylvain)

Jayna Smith of the Calais Advertiser and Machias Valley News Observer received numerous first-, second-, and third-place awards for her photography and writing. (Photo courtesy Paul Sylvain)

Former University of Maine Machias economics and political science professor Jon Reisman took top honors in the “Opinion Columnist” category for his often controversial “Freedom Studies” column. (Photo courtesy Paul Sylvain)