The Record is the recipient of the Michigan Press Association’s 2018 Public Notice Journalism Award.
The Record was singled out for recognition among its 320-member newspapers in Michigan for an article published on Aug. 31, 2017, titled “Nobody reads The Romeo Record.”
“It’s a real honor to receive such a recognition considering we are being judged alongside much larger operations such as the Detroit Free Press or The Detroit News,” said Lawrence Sobczak, The Record’s publisher.
The article was about a motion by Romeo Village Council Trustee Bob Hart instructing former Romeo Village Clerk Mike Lee to stop publishing public notices in the community’s newspaper.
Hart had argued that “nobody reads The `Romeo’ Record” and suggested that Lee simply tack public notices in three places in the village instead. Trustees Nathan Bartholomew and Christine Malzahn, who was a trustee at the time, agreed with Hart.
Former Romeo Village President Tadd Siglow along with trustees Meagan Poznanski, Zach Fowler and Matt Edwards voted against the motion to stop advertising public notices arguing that the village needed to comply with the Michigan Open Meetings Act and the village needed to be transparent with its actions.
The MPA created the award to exemplify news articles that emphasize the importance of public notices in newspapers.
The award was given in conjunction with the MPA’s annual convention which was held in Grand Rapids on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
The Record received two additional awards in the MPA’s 2018 Better Newspaper Contest.
The newspaper received third place in newspaper design for the May 2, 2018 edition which featured President Donald Trump’s visit to Washington Township.
The judge’s commented “nice layout, easy to read, good use of color.”
Creative Director Lyn Baxter was largely responsible for the appearance of the newspaper.
The Record received a third place in best headline for “Gerrymandering draws a crowd” which was written by Sobczak. The headline sat on top a story written by Stacy Sobotka describing a well-attended meeting at the Romeo Community Center to inform readers about Proposal 2 which was on the ballot on Nov. 8 asking voters to restructure the way the boundaries of political districts are drawn in the state.
The judges commented “did the writer realize how good this was only after the fact?”
Members of New York Press Association reviewed the 3,065 entries submitted by Michigan newspapers at this year’s contest.
The Michigan Press Association was formed in 1868 for newspapers as described under Michigan law.
There are links to the winning entries at the end of this story posted on www.myrecordnewspaper.com.
