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Peter Chianca from North Shore Sunday (Mass.) has been named Columnist of the Year for Division C in the 2009 Best of GateHouse contest.
About the entry
Even as Peter Chianca writes about the sorry financial state of the newspaper industry and acknowledges the serious plight newspapers face, he keeps a sense of humor and illuminates for readers the importance of community journalism: “I don’t know what’s going to happen to the newspaper business, but I do know that people want their local news, at least if the phone calls we get when we leave some of it out are any indication.” In examining some of the stranger social networking tools, Chianca wondered why anyone would buy Facebook friends, no matter the price. A criticism of an advertising campaign led to questioning the strengths of online friendships and how they compare to those in real life. Next, Chianca entertained readers with his take on Massachusetts drivers – their quirks and dubious skills. He expressed his ideas about traffic safety while making the reader laugh: “I’m not exactly known among my family and friends as an expert driver. I’ve never had a major collision (knock on synthetic plastic dashboard), but it’s rare when I drive in a city that somebody doesn’t say hello by leaning on his horn like he’s trying to alert the world to an impending nuclear apocalypse.”
Judges’ comments
Judges lauded Peter Chianca’s ability to maintain a sense of humor when writing about topics that at the heart are serious. They noted his “graceful style” and “light touch” and said, “He gets across his ideas without being heavy-handed or laborious.”
Peter Chianca from North Shore Sunday (Mass.) has been named Columnist of the Year for Division C in the 2009 Best of GateHouse contest.
About the entry
Even as Peter Chianca writes about the sorry financial state of the newspaper industry and acknowledges the serious plight newspapers face, he keeps a sense of humor and illuminates for readers the importance of community journalism: “I don’t know what’s going to happen to the newspaper business, but I do know that people want their local news, at least if the phone calls we get when we leave some of it out are any indication.” In examining some of the stranger social networking tools, Chianca wondered why anyone would buy Facebook friends, no matter the price. A criticism of an advertising campaign led to questioning the strengths of online friendships and how they compare to those in real life. Next, Chianca entertained readers with his take on Massachusetts drivers – their quirks and dubious skills. He expressed his ideas about traffic safety while making the reader laugh: “I’m not exactly known among my family and friends as an expert driver. I’ve never had a major collision (knock on synthetic plastic dashboard), but it’s rare when I drive in a city that somebody doesn’t say hello by leaning on his horn like he’s trying to alert the world to an impending nuclear apocalypse.”
Judges’ comments
Judges lauded Peter Chianca’s ability to maintain a sense of humor when writing about topics that at the heart are serious. They noted his “graceful style” and “light touch” and said, “He gets across his ideas without being heavy-handed or laborious.”
