The Post won three first-place prizes.
College media is about so much more than winning awards, but it’s still nice to be recognized for the many dedicated hours our staffers have given to a story, photo or front-page design.
The Post collected seven awards out of the Ohio Newspaper Association’s 10 collegiate categories at its conference Wednesday, earning particular praise for its dedicated photo staff.
The newspaper placed first in the news coverage category for its breaking stories regarding former Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly’s criminal corruption trial last year and the Union Street fire, which occurred in late November 2014.
Former local editor Emma Ockerman, who covered Kelly’s trial and is now editor-in-chief, and former campus editor Will Drabold, who covered the fire and is now director of editorial initiatives, were responsible for writing the award-winning stories. Last year, The Post placed third in the breaking news category for its work during the 2013-14 academic year.
The Post also garnered first-place spots for photojournalism, with entry photos taken by now-Director of Photography Arielle Berger — who shot the Union Street fire — and Emma Howells, who is one of four photo editors at The Post and captured an incredible moment at Green Beer Day last year.
The Post also won “best website,” with judges noting that they liked the prominence of photos on thepostathens.com and appreciated its ever-updating content during Ohio University’s winter break. The Post will be unveiling a new website fall 2016.
The newspaper competed against college papers of similar size, including award-winning publications such as The Lantern at Ohio State University and The Kent Stater at Kent State University.
The Post also took home second-place accolades for its front page design during the 2014-15 academic year, which was led by Jake Newton. Newton, now graduated, designs for RedEye in Chicago.
Also in the second-place category were former culture reporter and now-editor Meryl Gottlieb for her Post Modern on the Master of Fine Arts playwriting students that turn around a 3- to 5-minute play in just four days, and Elizabeth Backo for her Post Modern on Creative Commons licenses, which she co-wrote with Gottlieb.
Tony Wolfe, now a senior writer for The Post, also won second-place in the sports coverage category for his story about two Bobcat hockey players that grew up together and had been best friends from a young age.
It’s worth noting that to win those awards, some of us lost sleep or skipped class — never expecting a pot of gold at the end, just to do our jobs and to do them well.
So thanks to the Posties, and congratulations to everyone that beat us out in the collegiate category on Wednesday. We all should get some rest.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
