We are proud and excited to announce that a number of Signal Cleveland reporters and Cleveland Documenters are winners of the 2024 Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards hosted by The Press Club of Cleveland!
“It’s been just over 18 months since we launched Signal Cleveland, the inaugural newsroom in the Signal Ohio network. We hope you agree that we are well on our way to building a strong, nonpartisan, community-based local news ecosystem across the state,” Signal Ohio CEO Rita McNeil Danish said.
We have five first-place winners, three second-place winners and one third-place winner. Congratulations to all of them for their hard work and commitment.
“With a range of stories focused on topics from economics and government to childcare and youth football, our award-winning reporting demonstrates the success of our new model for local news — one that weaves community interests and questions with high-quality accountability reporting,” McNeil Danish said.
First-place awards
Economics Reporter Olivera Perkins received first place awards for her stories about the impact of redevelopment on residents of the Euclid Beach Mobile Home park and how parents were dealing with staffing shortages at childcare centers.
Olivera and Multimedia Director Jeff Haynes were honored with a first place award for the first season of Side Hustle, which looks at how Greater Clevelanders are using an entrepreneurial spirit to make ends meet. They also received a 3rd place award for an episode of Side Hustle called “The Line Dance King” focused on Robert Johnson’s fun line dancing events across the city.
Associate Editor Frank W. Lewis picked up a first place award for his look at the no car, no job dilemma facing many Greater Clevelanders when jobs in the suburbs aren’t accessible without transportation. He also received a 2nd place finish for his story looking at the spam home buying texts that show up on our phones and what we can do about them.
Documenters Assignment Editor Doug Breehl-Pitorak, Government Reporter Nick Castele, Director Research + Impact April Urban and Cleveland Documenters grabbed first place for their look at how casino revenue funds meant for community organizations were falling into a bureaucratic blackhole. After their reporting, the City of Cleveland made adjustments to allow for faster processing of funding for community organizations.
Second-place awards
Managing Editor, News Mark Naymik received a 2nd place award for his short documentary “Ward 5 United,” which looked at a youth football team striving to bring one community together.
Health Reporter Candice Wilder also picked up a 2nd place award for her story “Displaced,” which looked at one family’s struggle to find lead-free housing in Cleveland.
“These are the first awards for the Signal Cleveland newsroom and show the hard work and dedication we have in covering the community,” Editor-in-chief Lila Mills said.