Express News Group Recognized By Press Club Of Long Island

The Western Edition of The Southampton Press was named the region’s Best Community Newspaper by the Press Club of Long Island at its annual awards dinner on June 2 at the Marriott Melville.

It was one of several honors and awards garnered by The Express News Group. The organization took home four other first-place awards, was second in two other categories, and brought home third-place honors in an additional two categories.

In coverage of government and politics, the reporting duo of Michael Wright and Brendan O’Reilly took first place for their coverage of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and the local connection. Wright wrote a news story about the event, while O’Reilly wrote an accompanying news analysis piece, focused on the speech made by U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin, when he joined several fellow Republicans on the house floor in an attempt to reject Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s electoral ballots for President-elect Joe Biden. In that analysis, O’Reilly highlighted the multiple deficiencies in facts in that speech.

“That story was one of my proudest moments as an editor,” Express News Group Executive Editor Joseph Shaw said. “It was community journalism at its best.

“Local newspapers are not exempted from providing necessary context for readers, even when it’s a national, and historic, event like the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” Shaw added. “I thought Brendan’s analysis was essential to put Rep. Zeldin’s speech on the House floor into the context of the moment, and to provide important background that was missing, or excluded, from his remarks.”

Photographer Michael Heller, who recently retired and moved to Greece, took home a first-place photo essay award for his collection, “Lives on the Water,” published in The Sag Harbor Express, and he also took third place for The Express as Best Photojournalist-Still Imagery.

O’Reilly took home a first-place award in the coverage of Real Estate category for his piece “Living In Glass Houses,” published in the Express Magazine, which took a second place award for Best Magazine.

The Southampton Press also earned first place in In-Depth Reporting/Series for its collection of stories “Remembering 9/11.”

Desiree Keegan finished second in Education Reporting for her piece “Student Refuses To Stand For Pledge In Westhampton Beach To Protest Perceived Systemic Racism In District.”

Peter Boody picked up a third-place award for Breaking News for his piece “A New Low For Pilot” in the Sag Harbor Express.

Gavin Menu, the co-publisher of The Express News Group, along with his wife, Kathryn Menu, said he was proud of the achievements.

“It’s truly an honor to be recognized by our media peers on Long Island for the outstanding work we do in covering our communities. Long Island and the New York metro area are the richest and most competitive regions in the country in terms of community journalism, so to win these awards means a lot to us.”

Shaw echoed those sentiments.

“We’re particularly proud of the Western Edition of The Press winning Best Community Newspaper, our organization’s third win in a row, for three different editions.”