The Express took home three awards at the New England Press Association’s Better Newspaper contest Saturday night, including two top prizes.

Express Publisher Josh Cutler and Editor Justin Graeber display the award at the NEPA convention Saturday in Boston.

Maribeth Conway was honored with a first place prize in the category of investigative reporting for her four-part series on the disappearance of 21-year-old Hanson woman Maura Murray four years ago. The series was edited by Josh Cutler.  Here’s some of what the judges had to say:

“A remarkable series! … The story shows off all the qualities of good journalism –– tremendous sourcing, meticulous research, tracking paper trails, etc. –– and it tells a fascinating and heart-breaking story.

The Hanson Express should be commended for publishing such a first-rate series.  Reporter Maribeth Conway and her editor Josh Cutler also need to be commended for their hard work in pulling together such a comprehensive package of information for readers.  Maybe someday their incredible work will help solve the mystery of Maura Murray’s disappearance.”

The same series also took home top honors in the Web convergence category, meaning interactivity between the print stories and the Web site.  Under the “Maura is Missing” section of the Express Web site readers could download court documents, police reports, and view videos and photos not available in the print edition.

The Express staff also received a second place prize in the “Editorial Supplement of Special Section” category for our special section on the Hanson-Whitman Regional High School prom.  The judges liked this one so much, they admitted they’d be stealing the idea for their own papers.

Our sister paper the Duxbury Clipper also took home a first place prize, for their advertising supplement “The Year in Photos” and a second place award for editorial writer Peg Dostie. 

“I am proud of Maribeth for the extraordinary effort she put into this project,” said Express Editor Justin Graeber.  “We also owe many thanks to Express Publisher Josh Cutler for having the patience and resources to allow such a time-consuming and exhaustive undertaking.  I feel the final product is something this newspaper can be proud of for years to come.”