The Rye Record won 23 awards in the 2025 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, including the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence, and was named New York’s Non-Daily Newspaper of the Year.
Steven Kearney was named “Sports Writer of the Year” and Mayra Kalaora earned second-place honors as “Rookie of the Year,” an award given to a reporter who has worked in journalism for less than a year.
The Record was recognized in a broad range of categories, including coverage of local government, news, business, features, arts, education, and sports, as well as for its podcast, digital newsletters, and website.
“I’m extremely proud of our hardworking and talented team,” said Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher Jon Elsen. “And I’m very grateful to our many readers, advertisers, and donors who have made this success possible.”
The NYPA Better Newspaper Contest was judged by members of the Michigan Press Association, and each category was assessed by a different panel. One hundred fifty newspapers from around New York state entered 2,732 entries in the competition, which focuses on community journalism. Awards were given in 67 categories.
In naming The Rye Record “Newspaper of the Year,” the judges said, “The paper’s breadth and depth reflect a strong commitment to relevant, impactful journalism.”
The Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence was earned for the paper’s strengths across categories. “Judges noted that the paper delivers a complete editorial package, highlighting strong headlines, compelling design, and consistently high-quality editing.”
Between the Lines, the sports newsletter created last year, earned first-place honors as Best Newsletter. The judges were especially enthusiastic, writing, “If I cared about sports and I lived in Rye, this would be a must-read.” It cited the newsletter’s “smart, fun tone, well-chosen images, and simple formatting” as some of the reasons why.
Of Kearney, a judge wrote, he “does a great job of bringing you into the story. In his article on a soccer team playing on back-to-back rainy days, he tells us they ‘laced up their soggy boots.’ It’s a great mix of formal and conversational.”
The judges that Kalaora’s “writing is strong and her entry contained both news and features. She did a nice job of telling stories that reflect life in her community. I particularly liked her graduation story as it was a different take on a story we’ve all read many times.”
Laura Schiller received first-place recognition in the Arts Category for her profile of Spin Doctors frontman Chris Barron, who grew up in Rye. “The story the author dug out of this famous musician humanized him. The tale was compelling, well-told, and gave context to the greater personality of the subject. Excellent use of quotations to move the story along,” the judges said.
Taking on the thorny subject of downtown development in Rye, David Hessekiel earned first-place honors in the Business, Financial & Economic News Story category. The judges wrote: “Thorough development story filled with local tension. Well-sourced and clearly told.” (Hessekiel also won second place in the same category for his story on how tariffs were affecting local businesses. The judges noted it was “packed with voices and concrete details that bring to Main Street the impact of Trump’s tariffs.”)
Eileen O’Connor’s story on para alpine skier Victoria Whitely earned a first-place award for Sports Feature. O’Connor also won third place in the Feature Story – Lifestyle, Human Interest, or Personality Profile category for her story “Good Parties with a Great Mission,” about a local business that hires developmentally disabled people for planning parties. Of the piece about Whitely, the judges wrote, “Well-written story about Victoria including her journey to overcoming physical challenges. It’s an inspiring story.”
A full list of awards won by The Rye Record in the 2025 NYPA Better Newspaper Contest:
Non-Daily Newspaper of the Year
Stuart C. Dorman Award, Editorial Excellence
Sports Writer of the Year
Steven Kearney, first place
“Rookie” Reporter of the Year
Mayra Kaolora, second place
Best Newsletter
“Between the Lines,” edited by Chris Marshall, first place
“On The Record,” edited by Christian Falcone, third place
The judges said, “On The Record’s open rate — 70 percent — speaks for itself … and the stories offer a high value for my click.”
Sports Feature
Eileen O’Connor, first place
“Victoria Whitely Developed a Disorder That Left Her Quadriplegic As a Baby. Now, the Rye Para-Skier is Going for Gold”
Business, Financial & Economic News Story
David Hessekiel, first place
“Pace of Downtown Development Raises Concerns”
David Hessekiel, second place
“Downtown Retailers Struggle to Digest Tariffs”
Arts Story
Laura Schiller, first place
“Chris Barron Gross, Spin Doctors Frontman, on His Childhood in Rye”
Feature Story – News
Mayra Kalaora, second place
“Caps Fly As Rye High School Class of 25 Graduates.”
The judges said, “She did a great job of telling the story of graduation from different perspectives and you could almost hear how proud and excited both the graduates and their parents were.”
News Story
Rosie Newmark and Camille Botello, second place
“Rye Second Grader Repeatedly Sexually Abused and Bullied by Classmate, Parents Allege in New Lawsuit.”
“The details of this case are startling, and it’s impressive how the reporter unearthed them,” the judges wrote.
Rosie Newmark, third place
“NYPD Arrests Rye Drug Boss for Fentanyl and Heroin Ring”
The judges said: “This is really detailed for a breaking news post about what is essentially a drug arrest. You can tell the reporter went above and beyond finding more than just details shared by police.”
Feature Story – Lifestyle, Human Interest, or Personality Profile
Beth Levine, second place
“Surprise! Your New House Was Your Family’s Old House”
“What a truly small world — It was really great that there were living relatives able to talk about the past with the house, as it would seem an article like this wouldn’t be able to include those anecdotes,” the judges wrote.
Eileen O’Connor, third place
“Good Parties with a Great Mission”
The judge wrote in part: “Subjects like these can be tricky, but the writer did an excellent job navigating what some may have a hard time with.”
Technology Story
Juliet Rotondo, second place
“AI Has Rye High School Teachers on High Alert”
Written by Rotondo, a Rye High School student, during her senior year internship with The Rye Record, this article was praised for being a “relatable and well-sourced story that delves into a vital issue of our time from the educators’ perspective.”
Best Column
Lisa Dominici, third place
Competitors in this category submitted five examples of columns. Dominici, who is executive director of the Rye Youth Council and a regular columnist for The Record, received commendation for delivering “important topics and a good public service.”
Feature Story
Jessica Maricevic, third place
“Federal Budget Cuts Test Rye Nonprofits”
The judges wrote: “I enjoyed how well Jessica Maricevic localized the funding issue. She brought in enough agencies to show how impactful the cuts are to the organizations. It definitely brought attention to how a national issue trickles down to her community.”
Best Podcast
Camille Botello, third place
“On The Record”
Local Government Story
Miranda Ferrante, third place
“Mayor Cohn Hires Lawyer on His ‘Own Dime’ to Conduct Informal Rye Ethics Code Review”
The judges felt Ferrante did a “great job staying on top of a local issue” in this story about former Mayor Josh Cohn’s ongoing beef with the city’s Ethics Board.
Education Story
Rosie Newmark, third place
“The Instagram Principal”
Newmark’s piece on Rye High School principal Andrew Hara evoked this reaction from the judges: “The writing made me want to meet this guy. Just a nice writeup on an interesting leadership approach.”
Investigative/In-Depth Reporting
Camille Botello, third place
“Development Group, Shrouded in Secrecy, Seeks to ‘Shape’ Rye Via Encrypted Email”
This story about a group that refused to reveal itself after sending emails to the newspaper and local government caught the judges’ attention for its deep dive into the facts: “A bizarre situation which becomes a larger story about development within the community. The article manages to tie this strange group’s emails and renderings to the actual development in the community, taking a series of dismissive statements and turning them into a story that remains relevant beyond the novelty of cryptic emails.”
Best Overall Digital News Platform
Christian Falcone and Jon Elsen, third place
In the judges’ opinion, “Local news sites have to perform a lot of jobs that niche news sites don’t. The Rye Record allows you to navigate the site, from breaking news to obits, without thinking about the design — always a good sign.”
