CLEVELAND Vindicator writers win 3 SPJ awards

The organization presented the awards Saturday.
CLEVELAND -- The Vindicator captured three awards, including two first-place honors, at the annual Ohio Society of Professional Journalists luncheon.
The SPJ is a journalist organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as well as promoting high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism.
The Vindicator was in the 100,000 circulation and under print journalism category. The awards were given Saturday in Cleveland. The SPJ competition is considered one of the top contests for journalists in Ohio. More than 900 entries were submitted by 120 news organizations.
The newspaper won first place in best investigative reporting for its "Crunching the Cash" story package written by city hall reporter Roger G. Smith, politics writer David Skolnick, and Denise Dick of the Warren bureau.
The judges wrote: "The Vindicator looked at 20 counties, cities and townships, shaping up how money was being budgeted for future in relation to revenues. Turns out some suburbs were definitely headed straight toward spending beyond their means, and how supposedly finance-healthy townships were headed for a cliff."
Other honors
Staff writer Maraline Kubik's "Faces of Diversity" series tied for first place in the category of best coverage of minority issues. The other first-place winner was Julie Shaw of the Newark Advocate.
The judges wrote about Kubik's series: "Fascinating look at how a community's rigid boundaries are fading into oblivion: single-parent and blended families, same-sex marriages, multiracial couples, dads staying at home. The paper doesn't bemoan the changes, but embraces them as assets and economic opportunities in what becomes a surprisingly wonderful three-part series."
Skolnick and courthouse reporter Bob Jackson received second-place honors in the category of best use of a public record for a two-part series on "Utilities Late Fees Pass $10,000 Mark."
The judges wrote: "Here's a story idea for everybody to steal: Take two weeks, like these reporters did, and go through every county government water, gas, electric and phone bill. Then add up the fees (since government ALWAYS runs behind). In this particular county, more than $10,000 of tax money was just wasted on late fees because some bureaucrats can't be bothered to write a check on time."
These articles were honored in May by the Associated Press Society of Ohio in the best enterprise category for newspapers with circulations between 25,000 and 74,999.
Kubik's articles won second place, the utilities articles finished in third place, and "Crunching the Cash" received an honorable mention.