InDepthNH.Org Writers Win NENPA Awards

By InDepth NH

We are proud at InDepthNH.org to report that Garry Rayno, Paula Tracy and Arnie Alpert have won awards in the highly competitive New England Newspaper and Press Association's annual Better Newspaper competition.

Rayno and Tracy picked up their awards Saturday night at the NENPA banquet at The Venue at Portwalk Place in Portsmouth, but Alpert was unable to attend.

Garry Rayno won second place in the Political Columnist category for his highly regarded weekly Distant Dome column, where he explores a broader perspective on the State House and state happenings for InDepthNH.org.

Over his four-decade journalism career, Rayno has covered the NH State House for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Foster’s Daily Democrat and has been with InDepthNH.org almost since it launched in 2015. He is also one of the most well-known reporters in the state whose coverage has spanned the news spectrum, from local planning, school and select boards, to national issues such as electric industry deregulation and Presidential primaries.

He is frequently praised for his for his in-depth knowledge of education funding, the Education Freedom Accounts controversy. He has recently revealed darker times facing New Hampshire because of the contentious split between the political parties under the golden dome.

Rayno, who lives with his wife Carolyn in New London, has in the past won many other awards, including the New Hampshire Press Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Garry began reporting with us during the Northern Pass battle before the Site Evaluation Committee years ago and he just keeps on covering what is most important to people in New Hampshire. I've known Garry for many of his 40 years in the news business and couldn't be more proud of the work he does keeping New Hampshire people informed," West said.

Paula Tracy was honored with third place for Government Reporting. A fixture at Governor and Executive Council meetings, she reports on them whether the councilors meet in their chambers at the State House or atop Mount Washington. She has in the past won many awards from the New Hampshire Press Association, including its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Next year will be her 40th year covering New Hampshire after graduating from the University of New Hampshire writing program. Many of those years were at the New Hampshire Union Leader. She then worked for WMUR before reporting for InDepthNH.org.

"But the written word is my favorite ," Tracy says. "I love to meet and tell people's stories. And I love New Hampshire."

Arnie Alpert, who writes a column Active with the Activists for InDepthNH.org, won third place in the Protest or Demonstration Coverage category.

Alpert, a longtime social justice and civil rights activist, retired from the American Friends Service Committee in 2020 after 39 years. Over the years he pressed to make Martin Luther King Jr. day a holiday in New Hampshire and worked to end the death penalty in New Hampshire.

He also asked the state to place a historical marker about Elizabeth Gurley Flynn in Concord, and unsuccessfully fought the state when it was removed. “Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is a well-known historic figure who contributed greatly to struggles for workers’ rights, women’s equality, and civil liberties, generating considerable controversy along the way," he wrote about Flynn.

"At InDepthNH.org, Arnie writes about important issues, but almost always from the perspective of the people who care about them, especially those who want to make the world a better place. He has covered many of the protests involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Trump," said Nancy West, founder and executive editor of InDepthNH.org, adding, "It is a privilege to publish his column."

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.