The awards were announced online during the annual Catholic Media Conference, which was held virtually June 30-July 2 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Monitor staff and its freelance partners took home a third-place award for Best Feature Article and a third-place recognition for Best Seasonal Issue or Section. It was the first year The Monitor has competed in the diocesan magazine category after its transition from a newspaper in October 2019.

“It was very gratifying to have received this recognition based on the first few issues of the new magazine,” said Rayanne Bennett, associate publisher of The Monitor. “These results are a wonderful testament to the team that we have been blessed to work with, from our journalists, our designers and our business folks. We continue to be encouraged by the response to this publication, and we are committed to building upon what has been accomplished in our first year of production.” 

For Best Feature Article, the judges applauded correspondent Christina Leslie’s story “Parish, community revitalizing Civil War-era Lincroft cemetery,” which focused on those from St. Leo the Great Parish, Lincroft, and the area preserving the dignity of others. In Best Seasonal Issue or Section, The Monitor received kudos for its design and content for the December 2019 Christmas issue, “The Greatest Gift.”

Said the judge’s panel, which consists of media and academic professionals, “[There was] a load of content, and [we] appreciated the Spanish-language section.