Herald-Mail staff wins big at regional journalism awards: Here are the winners
Journalists from The Herald-Mail, still headquartered in Hagerstown while being owned by Gannett Co. Inc., won several awards Friday, May 3, at the annual conference of the Maryland/Delaware/District of Columbia Press Association, which represents more than 60 news outlets in the region.
For her series on development in Hagerstown, Tamela Baker won a “Best of Show” award, meaning that of all the news outlets of all sizes in Maryland her series was selected by news media professionals at the New Jersey Press Association as the best entry.
More: A development boom can bring challenges, too. How will Washington County meet them?
A team of reporter Julie E. Greene, photographer Ric Dugan, editor Joseph Deinlein and Baker won first place for its Continuing Coverage of the murder of Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson..
Sports editor Andy Mason won first place in the B division’s Sports Feature category for his piece, “'Like sports heaven': St. Maria Goretti's success drew national attention to the school.” He also won a second place award in the B division’s Breaking News/Social Media category.
More: 'Like sports heaven': St. Maria Goretti's success drew national attention to the school
Greene, who covered courts for the paper for much of the year, also received a first place award for her article, “If Smithsburg shooting defendant avoids prison, loved ones say it's 'a slap in the face',” examining the aftermath of a 2022 shooting that took place in the county.
James Paul, a college intern at the paper last summer, won first place in Education Reporting in the B division for his article, “English Language Learner enrollment jumped 33%. What's that say about Hagerstown?”
More: English Language Learner enrollment jumped 33%. What's that say about Hagerstown?
The statewide investigative reporter with the paper, Dwight A. Weingarten, also won first place in the B division’s Free Speech/First Amendment category for the article, “Non-fatal shootings double in Maryland in 8-year stretch. Funding to help on the way.” The reporting, supported by editors, used a Maryland Public Information Act request to obtain crime data from a state agency.
First place awards also were given to Weingarten in the B division for Public Notice Reporting as well as in the category of Growth & Land Use Reporting for articles on the statewide process for solar installations.
More: Non-fatal shootings double in Maryland in 8-year stretch. Funding to help on the way.
The editor-reporter duo of Deinlein and Greene won second place in the B division alongside photographer Dugan in the category of “News-driven Multimedia Storytelling” for their work covering the crane collapse last year on Interstate 70.
Several other second-place awards also were won.
The awards were distributed May 3 at the MDDC Annual Conference and Awards Program in Annapolis.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Herald-Mail staff wins big at regional journalism awards
