The Verona-Cedar Grove Times named best small weekly in New Jersey

Posted in Awards and Accolades by Lillian M. Ortiz

Staffers of the Verona-Cedar Grove Times pose with their

The Verona-Cedar Grove Times team poses with their “General Excellence” award in April. From left, Photographer Adam Anik, Managing Editor Joshua Jongsma, former Sports Editor Chris Leyden, Editor Lillian Ortiz, Editorial Assistant Joe Kleiber, and former Editorial Assistant Carolyn Maso.

For the third consecutive year, the Verona-Cedar Grove Times was named the best small weekly newspaper in New Jersey after earning the “General Excellence” award. The honor was announced in mid-April by the New Jersey Press Association during Press Night in Hamilton, New Jersey.

The Times secured the win after receiving 22 editorial, photography, and layout awards in the NJPA’s 2014 Better Newspaper Contest. In the past three years, the Times has won over 70 awards in the annual contest.

Video interviews with township council candidates from Verona, Cedar Grove

With municipal elections in Verona and Cedar Grove drawing near, we decided to interview all of the candidates on video. The candidates – four in Verona; two in Cedar Grove – were given three minutes to answer each question.

In total, the project consisted of 10 videos that were put together in a little less than a week and a half. While I would have loved to have additional time to put everything together, it was a great learning experience. I can’t wait to work on my next project. I have some new ideas up my sleeves.

The rest of the videos can be found on the Verona-Cedar Grove Times’ YouTube page.

5May2014

A1: using graphics as dominant art

Posted in Layout and Design by Lillian M. Ortiz

Here’s my latest A1 design from the April 24th edition of the Verona-Cedar Grove Times.

Many designers worry that they don’t have a strong enough photograph to use as dominant art. That’s when a good graphic comes into play. In this centerpiece, I used a map of New Jersey as my main image and worked a timeline into the design. The timeline is simple: lines and circles.