Standard-Speaker earns nine journalism awards

May 8—The newsroom team of the Standard-Speaker again earned nine Keystone Media Awards after recent judging in conjunction with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

The total of nine awards matches the most earned in one competition by the staff. Standard-Speaker writers, editors and photographers also combined for nine honors a year ago.

Seven staff members won individual honors, with three placing second in their categories. The staff also claimed six honorable mentions in Division III, which is comprised of multi-day publications with circulations of 10,000 to 19,999.

Staff Writer Kent Jackson earned second place for his Crisis Calls story in the News Feature Story category. The October article explored emergency calls to address mental health issues and the roles of police and health professionals in those moments.

Staff Writer Kelly Monitz earned second place for her Craft Creamery Expands Through Crisis story in the Business or Consumer Story category. The November article examined the work of Milkhouse Creamery as it increased production and services.

Assistant City Editor Christine Medeiros earned second place for her submission in the Headline Writing category. Her entry of three headlines included: Giving old shoes some soul (for a feature on a family-owned shoe repair business); Calling them yellow (for Gov. Wolf's color-coded designations for counties during the pandemic); and High steaks (for a feature on rising meat prices).

Medeiros also won two honorable mentions for her package of pages in the News Page Design and the Feature Page Design categories.

Staff Writer Amanda Christman won honorable mention for her Sworn to Serve story in the Personality Profile category, which detailed a ride-along with Hazleton police.

Staff Writer Jill Whalen won honorable mention for her Doggie Dilemma coverage in the Investigative Reporting category, looking into animals sold at a local store.

Sports Editor Dave Seamon took honorable mention for his Battle-Tested story in the Sports Feature category, catching up with former local athletes now in the health care industry facing the coronavirus.

News Editor Tony Maluso earned honorable mention for his submission in the Headline Writing category. His headlines were: President Elect-ed (on Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election after days of waiting); Snail mail (on delays with the postal service); and Costly information (on the city adding fees for information requests).

Times-Shamrock newspapers combined to win 53 awards in the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association contest.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton was named the top publication in the 20,000-to-49,999 circulation division, winning 25 awards and earning the coveted Sweepstakes Award as the newspaper with the most honors in its division.

The Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre added nine awards, as well as the prestigious John V.R. Bull Freedom of Information Award for coverage of the death of Shaheen Mackey at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

The Republican-Herald won five awards and the Wyoming County Examiner, a weekly newspaper, claimed four awards.

Executive Editor Larry Holeva noted that while the paper does not necessarily strive for awards, he was happy with the recognition received by Times-Shamrock given the past year's unconventional working environment.

"Clearly we don't write stories with the goal of winning contests. We write to serve our readers and to hold public officials accountable," Holeva said. "During a challenging year, with many staffers working remotely due to a pandemic, it's quite an honor to have such a large swatch of work recognized by the judges. It tells us that the quality of our work stacks up favorably against our peers across the state. I'm proud of the work we're doing across all departments."