Advocate wins AP general excellence, 25 other awards
NEWARK – The Advocate took first place for general excellence in its division at the Associated Press Media Editors annual awards ceremony held Sunday afternoon in Columbus.
Overall, Advocate journalists received a total of 13 first-place awards, five second-place awards and seven third-place honors, in addition to the paper claiming overall general excellence in its division among Ohio newspapers.
The winners included:
• Best Breaking News Coverage: The Advocate staff scored first- and third-place honors in this category. The first-place award came for coverage of a Newark officer shot in the line of duty. Judges praised the staff for “impressive teamwork on an important story.” Third-place honors came for coverage of a “swatting” hoax played on Denison University and local police agencies.
• Best Community Service: Reporters Anna Jeffries and Hannah Sparling won first-place honors for a series of stories focusing on recovery month. Judges praised their work as “a thorough series with good facts, figures, pictures (and) story-telling ... on a topic that is missed nationally and locally in coverage and funding.”
• Best Use of Social Media: A first-place award for reporter Emily Maddern and a second-place award for sports reporter Kurt Snyder were earned in this category. Judges praised Maddern for “excellent posting and engagement” and Snyder for his tweeting during games and use of Instagram.
• Best Explanatory Reporting: Advocate staffers Sparling, Jeffries, Maddern and Bethany Bruner teamed up for a first-place winning series regarding teens’ “Online Lives.” Judges said of their work, “A well-written, timely, personal look at a crucial issue. The newspaper let the students drive this piece with great results. It felt like the kids were the story, not people talking about kids. ... Despite the obvious and logical limitations of using minors, the piece felt complete.”
• Best News Writer: Maddern also earned a second-place award, judges noting her articles “are interesting and easy to understand. Readers will learn something while also enjoying the read.”
• Best Special Section: Kent Mallett won first-place honors for a “20 Under 40” edition of Business Advocate. Judges praised the concept for its “great subject matter, specifically for a business-focused publication.”
• Best Editorial Writer: Executive Editor Michael Shearer earned second-place honors for “clear writing and willingness to confront local issues.”
• Best Feature Writer: Reporter Anna Jeffries received first-place honors, judges noting she “beautifully captures the resilience of the human spirit. Her stories give readers a reason to keep reading.”
• Best Enterprise Reporting: Third-place honors went to Hannah Sparling for her series of articles on a local foster family. Judges praised Sparling’s work as “comprehensive coverage of a crucial local issue.”
• Best Graphic Artist: Photographer Michael Lehmkuhle won a first-place award for what judges praised as “a great collection of graphics that show creativity while, most importantly, illustrating what the story is about. Top-notch work.”
• Best Informational Graphics: Lehmkuhle also won a first-place award in this category, judges praising his “nice eye flow, well-balanced and good overall execution of illustration/color use.”
• Best Illustration: Lehmkhule earned first place in this category, where his work on photo illustration of a single player captured shooting basketball from several points on the court was deemed by judges “a great idea executed well.”
• Best Sports Feature Writer: Sports reporter Dave Weidig won third-place honors in this category. (There were no judges’ comments recorded for this or several other sports categories).
• Best Sports Writer: Weidig also scored a third-place award in this category.
• Best Sports Event Coverage: Reporters Weidig and Snyder earned second-place honors for “solid team coverage” encompassing four softball games in two stories.
• Best Sports Enterprise: Snyder earned third-place honors for his article, “District Bracketing a Puzzle.”
• Best Photographer: Jessica Phelps won a first-place award for what judges described as “a good collection of images that give the feel of being in the same room with the subjects.”
• Best Feature Photo: Phelps also won a first-place award in this category for her coverage of locals assisting at a Haitian health clinic.
• Best News Photo: Phelps won third-place honors for “polio vaccine,” an entry judges said represented “a good photo that shows how the most vulnerable among us can be helped by modern medicine.”
• Best Sports Photo: Phelps and Lehmkuhle won first- and second-place awards respectively in this category. Phelps was praised for “an incredible shot of a rare play.” Judges praised Lehmkuhle for “a very unique and effective point of view” for his photo “Making A Splash.” Judges called the photo, “superbly done.”
• Best Photo Essay: Phelps scored first- and third-place honors in this category for her works, “Just for Today,” and “A Labor of Love.”
Enterprise reporter Jessie Balmert, who formerly reported for The Advocate, also won a first-place award for “Best News Writer” for work that appeared in the Mansfield News Journal. Judges praised Balmert for “authoritative and capable writing that drew attention to the story rather than to itself.”