REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN 153 WATERBURY — Journalists from the Republican-American, The Sunday Republican and rep-am.com were recognized with 12 awards, including four first-place finishes, in the annual New England Newspaper & Press Association’s Better Newspaper competition. The regional news organization held its annual conference and awards announcements virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Awards were announced in stages Thursday and Friday during the online meeting of journalists from across New England. Among the first-place awards was a win in the timely Best Coronavirus Coverage. The Republican-American, Sunday Republican and rep-am.com offered judges a hefty collection of examples that included news, sports and feature stories, online graphics, a question-and-answer series, and daily email blasts and an online presentation that grouped all pandemic stories together, updated daily.