Vindicator wins 14 top honors at Ohio AP awards

Vindicator wins 14 top honors at Ohio AP awards

Staff/wire report

COLUMBUS

The Vindicator was named best in the state for newspapers with a daily circulation of 25,000 to 74,999 and won 13 other first-place awards today in the annual Ohio Associated Press Media Editors competition.

The Vindicator won the General Excellence award for 2013.

Sixty-four daily newspapers submitted 2,599 entries in the contest, which featured news and sports stories, features, editorials, columns, graphics and photos from 2013.

The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative representing 1,500 newspapers and 5,000 broadcast stations in the United States. Members of AP include 85 daily newspapers in Ohio.

Winners announced in ’13 OAPME newspaper contest:

General Excellence: 1, The Vindicator; 2, The (Canton) Repository; 3, The Lima News.

Best Headline Writer: 1, Matthew Arnold, The Vindicator; 2, Jeff Verbus, The (Canton) Repository; 3, Richard Logan, The Vindicator.

Best Business Writer: 1, Shane Hoover, The (Canton) Repository; 2, Jamison Cocklin, The Vindicator; 3, Edd Pritchard, The (Canton) Repository.

Best Columnist: 1, Charita Goshay, The (Canton) Repository; 2, David Trinko, The Lima News; 3, Laura Kessel, The (Willoughby) News-Herald.

Best Editorial Writer: 1, Jim Krumel, The Lima News; 2, Gayle Beck, The (Canton) Repository; 3, Richard Logan, The Vindicator.

Best Feature Writer: 1, Tim Botos, The (Canton) Repository; 2, Todd Franko, The Vindicator; 3, Ashley Luthern, The Vindicator.

Best Graphics Artist: 1, Ricky Darbey, The Vindicator; 2, Robert McFerren, The Vindicator; 3, Craig J. Orosz, The Lima News.

Best Sports Columnist: 1, Steve Doerschuk, The (Canton) Repository; 2, Joe Scalzo, The Vindicator; 3, Ed Puskas, The Vindicator.

Best Sports Feature Writer: 1, Joe Scalzo, The Vindicator; 2, Josh Weir, The (Canton) Repository; 3, Jim Naveau, The Lima News.

Best Sports Writer: 1, Steve Doerschuk, The (Canton) Repository; 2, Joe Scalzo, The Vindicator; 3, Guy Cipriano, The (Willoughby) News-Herald.

Best Photographer: 1, Jeff Forman, The (Willoughby) News-Herald; 2, Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository; 3, William Lewis, The Vindicator.

Best News Writer: 1, Joe Gorman, The Vindicator; 2, Matthew Rink, The (Canton) Repository; 3, Kelli Young, The (Canton) Repository.

Best Sports Event Coverage: 1, Kevin Connelly and Peter Milliken, The Vindicator, “Death of Sharon High School Football Players”; 2, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “Boys Basketball State Tournament”; 3, The (Canton) Repository, “State Football Finals.”

Best Sports Enterprise: 1, Josh Weir, The (Canton) Repository, “Concussions in Football”; 2, Mark Podolski and Chris Lillstrung, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “50 for 50”; 3, Todd Porter, The (Canton) Repository, “OHSAA Competitive Balance.”

Best Special Sports Section: 1, The Lima News, “2013 High School Football Preview”; 2, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “Mentor High School State Champs”; 3, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “High School Football Preview.”

Best Daily Sports Section: 1, The (Canton) Repository; 2, The Vindicator; 3, The (Willoughby) News-Herald.

Best Informational Graphics: 1, Bob Kast, The (Canton) Repository, “Energy From Rock”; 2, Robert McFerren, The Vindicator, “The Great Flood of 1913”; 3, Robert McFerren, The Vindicator, “Mill Creek Makeover.”

Best Illustration: 1, Michael Weiss, The (Canton) Repository, “Hall of Fame Collage”; 2, Michael Weiss, The (Canton) Repository, “Your Brain on Football”; 3, Craig J. Orosz, The Lima News, “Bills of Health.”

Best Breaking News Photo: 1, Madelyn Hastings, The Vindicator, “2 Kids Die in I-76 Accident”; 2, Craig Orosz, The Lima News, “It’s a Miracle: They Saved her Life”; 3, Craig Orosz, The Lima News, “Picking Up the Pieces.”

Best General News Photo: 1, John Stoops, The Lima News, “Remembering Tara”; 2, Jeff Forman, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “Immigration Vigil”; 3, Duncan Scott, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “T.J. Lane Killer.”

Best Feature Photo: 1, Robert Yosay, The Vindicator, “On the Right Trek”; 2, Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, “A Dab Will Do Ya”; 3, Craig Orosz, The Lima News, “Fall Fun Day.”

Best Sports Photo: 1, William Lewis, The Vindicator, “Varsity Blues”; 2, Richard Parrish, The Lima News, “Grabbing Golds”; 3, Scott Heckel, The (Canton) Repository, “Rainout.”

Best Photo Essay: 1, Craig Orosz, The Lima News, “Awesome With or Without His ‘Legs”’; 2, William Lewis, The Vindicator, “Kaitlin Windt”; 3, The Lima News, “Big Ideas on Lima’s Big Day.”

Best Community Service: 1, The Vindicator, “Drugs in the Mahoning Valley”; 2, The Lima News, “State of the State”; 3, Tim Botos, The (Canton) Repository, “The Bill of Rights.”

Best Special Section: 1, Robert McFerren, The Vindicator, “The Great Flood of 1913”; 2, The (Canton) Repository, “Hall of Fame Festival Preview”; 3, The Lima News, “Best of the Region.”

Best Breaking News Coverage: 1, The Vindicator, “Car Crash Kills 3”; 2, The Lima News, “Cop Stabbed; Officer Shoots Attacker”; 3, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “Life in Prison for Chardon High Shooting.”

Best Explanatory Reporting: 1, The Vindicator, “Murder of Teddy Foltz”; 2, David S. Glasier, The (Willoughby) News-Herald, “Heroin in the Suburbs”; 3, Heather Rutz, The Lima News, “Mayors’ Responsibilities Vary by Town.”

Best Enterprise Reporting: 1, Tim Botos, The (Canton) Repository, “11 Hours in Room 407”; 2, David Skolnick, The Vindicator, “$1,117,000 Spent on City Studies”; 3, Kate Malongowski, The Lima News, “Choosing a Utility Supplier.”

Best Investigative Reporting: 1, Tim Botos, The (Canton) Repository, “Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority”; 2, Matthew Rink and Kelli Young, The (Canton) Repository, “Taking Away the Badge”; 3, Jamison Cocklin, The Vindicator, “What is Going On at 2761 Salt Springs Road?”

Best Full Page Layout: 1, Denise Hunter, The Lima News, “Who We Are”; 2, Robert McFerren, The Vindicator, “The Great Flood”; 3, Michael Weiss, The (Canton) Repository, “Hall of Fame Coloring Page.”

Best Page One Layout: 1, Robert McFerren, The Vindicator; 2, The (Canton) Repository; 3, The Lima News.

Best Use of Multimedia: 1, David Trinko and Heather Rutz, The Lima News, “Municipal Salaries 2012”; 2, The Vindicator, “Vindy Talk Radio”; 3, Ben Duer, The (Canton) Repository, “Reciting the Bill of Rights.”