Tom Archdeacon took home two awards, with a second-place finish for Best Sports Writer for large papers in Ohio and third place for Best Sports Feature Writer for large papers.
In the Best Sports Writer category, Archdeacon was honored for a personal story of his relationship with the late boxer Muhammad Ali, a column on distance runner/marathoner Meb Keflezghi, a column on the Dayton Dunbar football team’s national anthem protest and a column on Chuck Schretzman and his battle with ALS.
Tom Archdeacon’s tribute to Muhammad Ali
In feature writing, his entries included a poignant piece on the ‘Inspiring Flyer’ – the late Krystal Byrne, a story on Grace Norman, a two-time gold medalist at the Rio Paralympic Games, a story on Lucinda Williams, a sprinter who won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and a story on the Dayton Flyers’ three prominent players from Chicago and their thoughts on the gun violence in their hometown.
Grace Norman poised to compete, inspire in Rio
Business reporter Randy Tucker won second place for Best Business Writer for large papers and Chris Stewart won second place for Best Photographer.
Tucker’s reporting went beyond the headlines of doctor sex abuse and found the loopholes doctors are able to use to practice again.
Stewart also won second place for Best Explanatory Reporting for a piece on Ohioans’ attempts to get disability benefits and third place for Enterprise Reporting for his coverage of the Ohio heroin epidemic.
The sports section of Dayton Daily News was named second place for best sports section in Ohio.
More than 65 daily newspapers in Ohio submitted more than 2,000 entries in the contest, which included news and sports stories, features, photos and more from 2016.
WHIO, also owned by Cox Media Group Ohio, had several winners as well in the broadcast competition.
Byron Stirsman won Best Photographer, while Stirsman and James Brown were awarded first place for Best Feature Reporting. The duo also won second place for Best Sports Feature.
WHIO’s Digital Team won second place in Ohio for both radio and television. McCall Vrydaghs won second place for Best Weathercast.
AM 1290 and News 95.7 WHIO received the regional Edward R. Morrow award for Breaking News Coverage on the “Hunt for Brookville shooter.” Meanwhile WHIO-TV's Sky7, the video drone photography aircraft flown by Eric Dietrich and Ty Greenless, won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for “Excellence in Innovation.”
Here is a list of the Dayton Daily News award winners:
Best Sports Feature Writer: Tom Archdeacon, third place
Best Sports Writer: Tom Archdeacon, second place
Best Photographer: Chris Stewart, second place
Best Daily Sports Section: Dayton Daily News, second place
Best Business Writer: Randy Tucker, second place
Best Explanatory Reporting: Kara Driscoll, first place; Chris Stewart, second place
Best Enterprise Reporting: Christ Stewart, third place
Here is a list of the WHIO award winners for television and radio:
Best Photographer: Byron Stirsman, first place
Best Feature Reporting: James Brown and Byron Stirsman, first place
Best Sports Feature: James Brown and Byron Stirsman, second place
Best Digital Presence: WHIO, second place in TV and radio
Best Weathercast: McCall Vrydaghs, second place
Edward R. Morrow awards: Breaking News Coverage (radio) and Sky7 (TV)
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