“I am very proud of our team’s hard work,” said Ashley Bethard, editor of the Dayton Daily News and chief content officer of Cox First Media. “It means a lot to us to be recognized among some of Ohio’s best. It also reminds us of the importance of our mission: to provide quality, in-depth local journalism that matters to our community.”
Named in the awards ceremony were:
Best Business Writer: Lynn Hulsey, 2nd place. Her coverage included deep dives into the impact of college degrees on wages and inflation here locally, as well as an investigation into complaints against a solar company that had operated locally.
Best Columnist: Ray Marcano. 3rd. His columns covered topics including his conversation with an admitted racist to a church’s expansion into job training.
Best Daily Sports Section: Dayton Daily News staff. 2nd.
Best Editorial Writer: Nick Hrkman. 3rd. Writing our unsigned opinion pieces, he covered topics including the mess of the state redistricting process and the need for civility with our teachers.
Best Feature Photo: Jim Noelker. 1st. Noelker was recognized for his photo of the funeral for World War II veteran James “Pee Wee” Martin.
Best Headline Writer: Bob Underwood and Sean McClelland. Underwood 1st and McClelland 2nd.
Best Illustration or Informational Graphic: Mark Freistedt and Alexis Larsen. Freistedt received 3rd place, and Larsen, 1st. Freistedt produced a graphic about COVID-10 vaccination rates by ZIP code, and Larsen’s graphic was titled, “Where do PFAS in water come from?”
Best News Photo: Noelker. 2nd, for his photo of Tipp City tornado aftermath.
Best Public Service: Investigation into childhood vaccination rates. 3rd. This investigation showed that rates dropped at area schools during the pandemic and moral or religious exemptions also increased in area schools.
Best Special Sports Section: Cincinnati Bengals Super Bowl special section. 2nd.
Best Sports Columnist: Tom Archdeacon. 3rd. Archdeacon was recognized for covering Ukraine native Vitaly Potapenko’s views on the Russia-Ukraine war and how a fireworks accident changed the life of a local athlete.
Best Sports Feature Writer: Archdeacon. 1st. His features included the tale of a bodybuilder fighting a vision condition on his path to the Mr. America contest and the story of a former Belmont soccer player who went from refugee camp to Dayton police officer
Best Sports Writer: 1st. Archdeacon, whose stories covered a former UD football player who serves as inspiration decades after his death and the sisters who shared in victory at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open played in Kettering.
Best Spot News Coverage: 2nd. Coverage of June 1, 2022 shooting incident at Miami Valley Hospital in which a private security guard and the inmate who shot him were both killed.
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