PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The Greenfield Recorder claimed three awards at the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s 2025 New England Better Newspaper Competition awards banquet on Saturday.
The contest includes different categories that divide up competitors based on frequency of publication, mode of publication (print or online-only) and circulation, with the Recorder falling into the category of daily newspapers with a circulation of less than 13,000.
Sports columnist Chip Ainsworth was awarded first place for his long-running column, “Keeping Score,” while West County reporter Madison Schofield came home with two second-place awards: one in the category of Business/Economic Reporting for her November 2024 article about an app that helps consumers find where they can buy farm-fresh eggs in Franklin and Hampshire counties, and another in the Education Reporting category for her March 2025 article that covered how area school districts are handling the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
“Hats off to Madison Schofield and Chip Ainsworth for having their work recognized as among the best of their peers in New England in 2025,” Executive Editor Dan Crowley said. “For Madison to be honored across two categories speaks to the breadth of her reporting and enthusiasm for the important work that we do while Chip continues to provide Recorder readers with an original voice and his unique commentary on the sports world.”
Staff at the Recorder’s sister paper, the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, also earned five awards. Photographer Daniel Jacobi II earned first place in the Sports Feature Photo category, as well as a second-place prize in the Sports Action Photo category and third place in the News Feature Photo category. Staff writers Emilee Klein and Sam Ferland each came home with one third-place award, Klein in the category of Environmental Reporting for her July 2025 coverage of the region’s rising water tables and Ferland for his July 2025 coverage of Pioneer Valley residents taking their voices to Beacon Hill to advocate for rent control legislation.