April 2017 marks Amanda Rabinowitz's 10th anniversary in the WKSU newsroom. Throughout her amazing award-winning career, Amanda has covered hundreds of stories. These are her choice for the 10 that really stood out.
1. Playing through pain sometimes means a deadly addiction for athletes (April 24, 2012)
In 2008, University of Akron football player Tyler Campbell was leading the team in tackles. A year later, he had surgery on a mangled shoulder. He got hooked on prescription painkillers. Within two years, he was dead.
Playing Through the Pain.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/31460
2. Coverage of International Gay Games 9 in Cleveland (August 9-16, 2015)
For eight days, GG9 took up residence in Cleveland and Akron for an inclusive sporting and cultural event. Amanda covered the event extensively, with stories on the athletes, reports on LGBT issues and interviews with the people who came from around the world to compete and have fun.
Gay Games 9 welcome.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/feature/gg9
3. Three-part series - Heroin: Big Trouble in a Small Town (March 10-12, 2014)
Heroin abuse is gaining a lot of attention as it spreads through Ohio’s suburbs. But it’s in rural areas like Tuscarawas County that the drug has been a huge problem for a decade. Some describe it as a first love; others as a lifelong battle. The series examines heroin abuse in small-town Ohio with stories of addiction, death - and hope.
Heroin never goes away.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/feature/heroin
4. 'A rock thing for girls' (May 27, 2011)
It wasn’t long ago that radio stations limited how many female artists they could play. It was a similar story at record labels: if a quota of female artists were signed, others were turned away. As the Rock Hall opened an exhibit featuring woman who rock, Amanda interviewed early stars who fought their way into rock history and paved the way for today’s female voice.
Women who rock.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/28454
5. Two-part series - Ohio jails: Mental health treatment of last resort (July 26&27, 2012)
As with much of the nation, Ohio’s jails are often the state’s defacto mental institutions. In a two-part series, Amanda Rabinowitz walked listeners through a mental health pod inside the Summit County jail. And she explored other options that Northeast Ohio communities are trying to keep people whose crime is often simply their illness out of jail.
Mental health in Ohio jails.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/32494
6. Ousted Cub Scout leader, Ohio community at epicenter of gay rights debate (May 31, 2012)
In one month, Jennifer Tyrrell went from a rural Ohio Cub Scout leader to an international symbol in the decades-long battle between the Boy Scouts and gay rights. But, as Amanda reported, the ousted den mother didn’t want to be famous – just a good mom.
Gay Cub Scout mom.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/31829
7. Thanks to Starbucks, East Liverpool's pottery comeback continues (July 10, 2013)
Amanda returned to the “Pottery Capital of the World” to check in on American Mug & Stein, a small pottery factory in East Liverpool. The company was on the brink of shutting down until it made national news when it got a huge order from Starbucks. What she found was encouraging for the business and the battered town’s vanishing industry.
A return to American Mug & Stein.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/36122
8. Ohio's racinos are holding their own, but the future is a gamble (June 4, 2015)
A story that won a Regional Murrow Award for Best News Writing follows the story of regional horse tracks that were converted into racinos. That spring, the facilities that offer horse racing and slots beat out the state’s casinos, raking in $70 million in revenue. But experts and racino operators in Northeast Ohio said plenty of challenges remained.
Checking in on Ohio's Racinos.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/43161
9. The new sound of the old Goodyear Theater could transform East Akron (September 22, 2016)
The old headquarters of one of Northeast Ohio’s iconic companies is drawing big music acts to what had been a desolate area of East Akron. Amanda examined the viability of the newest music venue: Akron’s Goodyear Theater.
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/wksu/audio/2016/09/rabinowitz_akron_music_scene_goodyear.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/post/new-sound-old-goodyear-theater-could-transform-east-akron/
10. Hard hits on 'little bobbleheads' (October 12, 2011)
Much of the attention about football and concussions is focusing on high school kids, college players and even the pros. But a team of Cleveland Clinic researchers says the thousands of small hits kids 10 and under sustain is of even more concern.
A tough look at little bobbleheads.mp3 :: http://wksu.org/news/story/29650
