The Chronicle earns top awards from New York Press Association

The Chronicle and its sister publications won multiple awards from the 2025 Better Newspaper Contest. Winners were announced last week at the New York Press Association’s spring convention.

The Chronicle’s story “They can’t touch your family for a year,” by senior reporter Becca Tucker, took first place in the highly competitive News Feature category, and first place for Best Diversity Story. The article also earned third place in the Human Interest Feature category.

“A powerful story about the real people behind the headlines” commented contest judges. “So many feelings evoked by this excellent piece.”

The article shares the story about a local 17-year-old Orange County, N.Y. teenager, Jessica, who enlisted in the National Guard to get her parents access to green cards, despite their initial protests.

“An enlightening insight into the difficulties of being in a family of undocumented immigrants at a time of increased enforcement,” said contest judges. “The military enlistment angle goes into an often underdiscussed aspect of the subjects, especially with its connection to the dream of citizenship and challenges people will put up with to achieve it.”

The paper also took first place in both the Best Environment Story category and Health, Health Care and Science category the for Tucker’s article “Nearly painless, occasionally fatal: What’s it like to get bitten by a rattler?”

“Well written, engaging writing, full of personal experiences, science, and helpful information,” said contest judges. “No snake stereotypes here - respectful and objective. I came away informed happy to have spent time reading this.”

In this piece, Tucker interviewed a local snake handler and a zookeeper who both got bit by rattlesnakes and lived to tell the tale, along with a toxicologist who specialized in venomous snakes, a rattlesnake expert and more. In addition to sharing stories about what it’s like to get bitten, the piece also explores the likelihood of running into a venomous snake in the region, which local hospitals carry antivenon, and what to do if bitten.

Contest judges added: “This article was incredibly informative, well-researched, and had a lot of great sources. The information about which hospitals were confirmed to have the antivenom was also a very nice touch.”

Tucker’s article “’That’s not my grandma, that’s my mom,’” took first place in the Spot News category. This article shares the stories of six local grandparents who are raising their grandchildren for a range of reasons: their children were neglectful, addicted to substances, or struggled a mental health challenge.

Contest judges said the story “humanizes the challenges that grandparents face in raising their grandchildren as well as the success stories. This is the type of journalism that gets people to think — and maybe advocate for more support for grandparents that are in these situations.”

Chronicle reporter Bryan Fumagalli’s article “The DOGE effect” took first place for Best Investigative reporting. Contest judges said: “A great example of taking a national story and making it local, the accounts from the federal employees show how people within the bureaucracy reacted to the aggressive measures taken by DOGE. The commentary from perspectives humanize the events that occurred and give readers a better sense of the differing views of federal workers at this critical time.”

Fumagalli’s article “Town of Chester Highway Superintendent arrested following DoorDash shooting incident” earned third place in the Spot News category.

The Chronicle’s coverage on invasive water chestnuts in Greenwood Lake, by reporter Jane Primerano, took second place in the Best Environment Story category.

Judges said “This is a great topic to cover, and a serious problem not just in New York, but all over the country due to climate change. It really boils down a huge climate issue to how it directly affects local communities and ecosystems.”

Bob Quinn’s “WWII parachute christening gown returns,” earned third place in the Religion Story category.

“This was a pretty special story to read. The use of past and current photos make the story even more compelling. The creation of a christening gown made from a World War II parachute, and all of the lives it has touched since July 1947, is remarkable. The number of children to be baptized in this gown (54), made from the silk parachute, is a true family tradition; one that bridges the past to the present.”