WKSU was honored by the Press Club of Cleveland with 10 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards at a ceremony on June 7 at the House of Blues in downtown Cleveland. The station won six first-place and the best-in-show award for Best Newscast, which WKSU staff has received in five of the past six years. Award entries were judged by a panel of journalism professionals from press clubs and news publications across the country.
WKSU winners of 2019 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Press Club of Cleveland are:
- Best in Show – Radio Newscast, Major Market, Host/Producers Jeff St.Clair (All Things Considered) and Amanda Rabinowitz (Morning Edition).
Both hosts work on tight deadlines, adding regional breaking and long-form reports to NPR’s national news magazines.
- First Place – On-going Coverage, Reporter/Producer M.L. Schultze for “Amer Adi Deportation.”
A series of reports following the eventually successful attempts to deport Youngstown resident to his native Jordan, despite community intervention.
- First Place – Public Service, News Staff for “Navigating the Path to Mental Health.”
The six-part series took a deep dive into access and availability issues surrounding mental health care in Northeast Ohio.
- First Place – Use of Sound, Reporter/Producer Mark Arehart for “A New Kind of Wooden Coaster Twists and Turns at Cedar Point.”
This sound-rich report combines technical information about Cedar Point’s latest addition with on-scene sound of Arehart riding Steel Vengeance for the first time.
- First Place – News Writing, Reporter/Producer Jeff St.Clair for “Blockland Backers Dream of a Cleveland Tech Mecca.”
Part of St.Clair’s on-going Exploradio series, the report looked at blockchain, what it can do and the challenges of making Cleveland a tech Mecca.
- First Place – Radio News Website, WKSU Staff for “WKSU.org.”
Award for work on WKSU’s station website, incorporating local, statewide and national content.
- First Place – Use of Social Media, WKSU Staff for “WKSU Social Media.”
Coordinated efforts to share WKSU content, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and special projects on YouTube and Facebook Live.
- Second Place – Radio News, Schultze for “EBay Finds Akron’s Jugglers, Beekeepers and Artists.”
- Second Place – Human Interest, Rabinowitz for “Shuffle: Project D.R.E.W. Helps Veterans Heal Through Song.”
- Third Place – In-depth Coverage, St.Clair for “Exploradio: Industry 4.0 in Cleveland.”
The Ohio Excellence in Journalism contest is a statewide competition for the best in print, broadcast and digital journalism. More than 800 entries were submitted for consideration.