Henry Hough had won a special Pulitzer Prize for historical research as a Columbia University student in 1918.

[4][9] The newspaper was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting for their coverage of 1991's Hurricane Bob.

[9] Like Henry Hough, Richard Reston was a strong editorial advocate against development and for environmental preservation, and is credited with many victories in those areas.

These stances prompted five local business owners to start a competing newspaper, the Martha's Vineyard Times, in 1984.

[9] Richard Reston was succeeded by John W. Walter, an editor of USAToday and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.