SALEM, Ohio — Farm and Dairy newsroom staff members and columnists took home awards from various professional organizations this year.
“Every year, we put our work up against much bigger publications and staffs because we try to give our readers the absolute best coverage we can,” said Editor Susan Crowell. “And these awards prove what we preach here in the newsroom: We may be small, but we’re mighty.”
In the Society of Professional Journalists’ Ohio writing contest, Reporter Chris Kick placed second in Best Political Commentary in the print, under 75,000 circulation division, for his opinion piece, “Ohio should rethink selling prison farms.”
Kick also placed second in Best Feature Reporting in the same circulation division, for a trio of feature articles.
In the National Newspaper Association, Reporter Catie Noyes received second place in the video journalism category for her video “Not your grandfather’s farmers market.”
Columnist Kymberly Foster Seabolt won NNA’s Best Serious Column category for her tribute to her grandmother, “Memories of Gram.”
And this was the first year Farm and Dairy participated in the contests coordinated by AAEA, the Agricultural Communicators Network (formerly known as the American Agricultural Editors’ Association.
In the 2017 AAEA Communication Awards contests, Reporter Katy Mumaw achieved Level One in the Master Photographer program and Editor Susan Crowell achieved Level One in the Master Writer program.
The Ohio SPJ awards recognize excellence in television, radio and print journalism. The National Newspaper Association contest, which drew 1,433 entries this year, awards honor the best in community journalism. The AAEA program recognizes the top work from writers, designers and photographers in the agricultural media field from across North America.
