Independent named finalist for Newspaper of the Year
Paper wins 11 awards from New England Press Association
For the third consecutive year, The Nantucket Independent has been named a finalist for the George A. Speers Newspaper of the Year Award by the New England Press Association (NEPA).

The Independent was also notified this week that it has received 11 awards from the New England Press Association in its 2006 Annual Better Newspaper Contest. The judging period was from August 1, 2005 to August 1, 2006.

The Independent placed either first, second or third in the following categories:

Advertising General Excellence

Arts & Entertainment Reporting ~ by Marli Guzzetta for her comprehensive coverage of the Nantucket Film Festival.

Arts & Entertainment Section

Best Idea for Generating Ad Sales ~ for the Nantucket Wedding Planner & Special Events Guide.

Coverage of a Racial or Ethnic Issue ~ by Mary Lancaster for her in-depth series "New Lives, New Faces" about immigration on Nantucket.

Editorial Supplement or Special Section ~ for the Town Meeting Guide.

Environmental Reporting ~ by Peter B. Brace for his story "Trashing Nantucket."

General News Story ~ by Chris Edmonds for his story "Nantucket's criminals doing time in The House - a special report from inside the Barnstable County Correctional Facility."

History Reporting ~ by Chris Edmonds for his in-depth series on the Andrea Doria.

In Paper Circulation Promotion ~ for the Great Off The Rock Getaways contest.

Social Issues Feature Story ~ by Mary Lancaster for her "New Lives, New Faces" series.

The Newspaper of the Year winners in the weekly circulation under 10,000 (the category in which The Independent is competing), over 10,000, alternative weekly and daily divisions will be announced at the Annual Better Newspaper awards banquet on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2006 at the Boston Park Plaza. The five finalists in each of the five categories are chosen based on a point system from the number of awards each newspaper won. This year's contest had more than 350 newspapers participating with more than 6,000 entries.

The staff will travel to Boston the weekend of February 9 to receive their awards at NEPA's annual convention at The Park Plaza Hotel.

The Nantucket Independent is the island's only locally owned weekly newspaper. It began publication in July 2003.

I