Last week, the Local Media Association, a trade group for community newspapers, released its 2011 editorial award winners, giving PGN 10 honors.
This is the highest number of awards a mainstream journalism organization has given an LGBT publication, ever.
This also placed PGN second in the nation for the number of awards given by LMA. (The Howard County Times of Maryland topped PGN with 11 awards.)
For some, this might not be a significant accomplishment. How many awards does The New York Times win each year? Or the Daily News or The Inquirer?
The significance is this: PGN fought for years to be accepted as a peer by mainstream media; it was only after leadership at the Daily News and the Inquirer advocated for PGN that it was allowed admittance to the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. It took 10 years for PGN to be allowed into Suburban Newspapers of America, LMA’s previous moniker.
While it certainly is an honor to be recognized by peers in LGBT media, it marks progress when mainstream organizations also recognize your work and judge it on an equal playing field.
The other significant aspect of these particular awards is that, while PGN was competing among papers of similar circulation and frequency, many of the papers are part of larger publishing companies — and have more resources than an independently run paper such as PGN.
Additionally, PGN won for editorial content and design; again, another sign of LGBT acceptance. (Yes, gays can design. But we can also write hard-hitting news stories.)
Here are the awards: — 1st Place, Best Continuing Coverage: Stacey Blahnik murder by Jen Colletta — 1st Place, Best Entertainment/Lifestyle Section: Arts & Culture Section — 1st Place, Best Column Writing: Millennial Poz by Aaron Stella — 1st Place, Best Graphic Artwork: Election 11/10, Regional Civil Unions/Marriage Laws, 35 Years of PGN timeline by Scott Drake and Sean Dorn — 1st Place, Best Non-Page One Layout: Arts & Culture Feature Story Covers by Sean Dorn
— 3rd Place, Best Opinion Column: “Mark My Words” by Mark Segal — 3rd Place, Best Arts & Entertainment Criticism/Commentary: “These Women Want to Rock You with New Music” by Larry Nichols — 3rd Place, Best Special Section: “World AIDS Day” by PGN Staff
— Honorable Mention, Best Arts & Entertainment Writing-Feature: “Author Brings Her Story to the Stage in Philly” by Larry Nichols — Honorable Mention, Best In-Depth Reporting: “Crystal Meth: Clubs, Culture and the Gay Community” by Jen Colletta
Congratulations to the winners, and to everyone on the PGN team — editorial, production, advertising and administration. It can be a challenge to put out a weekly newspaper — thank you for your dedication and hard work. And thank you to the community who reads and supports us every week. We couldn’t do it without you either.