The Connecticut Post has received the Newspaper of the Year Award from the New England Newspaper Association.

The paper was cited for its "compelling and creative" writing, "elegant" design, "sound and multi-sourced" reporting with photography "as compelling" as the writing.

The Post "should appeal to anyone in the community who is seeking information from an authoritative source . . . You should be proud because you are clearly providing a public service to your readers with your in-depth local news coverage and emphasis," the judges said at an awards luncheon in Boston on Friday.

"I am proud," said Post Publisher and President Robert H. Laska. "This award is for the total newspaper produced by a talented, dedicated and hardworking staff. And I thank them." Laska was also elevated to first vice president of NENA at the same event.

The Post won the award in the over 60,000 circulation category. The second place "Distinguished Newspaper" award went to the Portland Press Herald of Portland, Maine, and the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass.

The Connecticut Post shared second place "Distinguished Newspaper" for its Sunday edition with the Sunday Republican of Springfield, Mass. Newspaper of the Year in the Sunday over 70,000 circulation category went to the Maine Sunday Telegram of Portland, Maine.

"To win both daily and Sunday is a tribute to a top-notch staff seven days a week," Post Editor James H. Smith said. Other winning Connecticut newspapers were The

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Day of New London, Newspaper of the Year for Sunday editions 25,000 to 40,000 circulation and Distinguished Newspaper for dailies its size. The Hartford Courant won for editorial writing. The Advocate of Stamford, a sister newspaper of the Post, won a Distinguished Newspaper award for Sunday editions 25,000 to 40,000 circulation.

Other winning MediaNews Group newspapers, the Post's parent company, include the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass., Distinguished Newspaper for dailies 22,500 to 35,000 circulation; and The Sun of Lowell, Mass., which shared the Morley L. Piper First Amendment Award with the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press. The Sun also won the Best Front Page Design award for its wrap-around cover of the day the Red Sox won the World Series.

The judges for this year's competition were editors and publishers from New York state, California, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Tennessee.