New England Newspaper Association Honors 10 for Outstanding Reporting

By: Ten newspapers were honored Friday for outstanding reporting done in the spirit of courage and independence of Publick Occurrences, the nation's first newspaper, by the New England Newspaper Association.

The Publick Occurrences Awards were established in 1991 to mark the 300th anniversary of Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick, published in the United States despite censorship from the British crown.

The award winners, selected by Nieman Fellows at Harvard University, were recognized at the annual spring publishers conference in Boston.

Winners included:

? The Sunday Telegraph, of Nashua, N.H., for its series, "For rent," which examined the woes of rental housing in Nashua, with an in-depth report from the perspective of both landlord and tenant.

? The Republican-American, of Waterbury, Conn., for "Refugees add life to Brass City," a year-long series on the integration of Burmese refugees to Waterbury. The series prompted the U.S. State Department to look into the practices of a long-standing refugee resettlement organization, which resulted in the revocation of its contract.

? The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press, for its investigation of the kidnapping, rape and slaying of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, allegedly by her uncle with the help of her stepfather and the online social networking site, MySpace.com. The paper's coverage led to the governor's push to pass legislation that would keep tighter
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reins on repeat sex offenders.

? The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, Mass., for "Healthcare in the Berkshires," a three-day series examining the state of healthcare in the Berkshires.

? Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H., for "Defused," the gripping tale of a man who took hostages at a Hillary Clinton campaign office.

? Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, for its reporting on Rumford, Maine, which provided detailed but fair coverage of nutty small-town politicians.

? The Keene (N.H.) Sentinel, for "Without a Net," a 360-degree look at the way businesses get around paying worker's comp insurance and the consequences when workers are injured.

? The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass., for "The New Immigrants," a comprehensive look at the newcomers who helped make the city of New Bedford, from Cape Verdeans who worked the cranberry bogs in the 1910s to Guatemalans who work the seafood plants today.

? The weekly Provincetown (Mass.) Banner, for "Shifts, Myths and Truths," a look at how Provincetown businesses might thrive in a downturning economy?plus rebuttals from business owners who can't find good help.

? The weekly Goffstown (N.H.) News, for "Healing together," the story about a mother and daughter who got help from modern medicine and from their community.