Central and northern New York newsrooms gathered under one roof to celebrate the best of local journalism at the 2022 Syracuse Press Club awards.

Over 200 guests attended the banquet on Saturday, May 7 to receive their awards and placements. Frankie Jupiter of CNYCentral and Nicole Sommavilla of NewsChannel 9 served as esteemed hosts for the evening.

The club also distributed five special honors including the Newcomer Award, the Transparency Award, the Professional Standards Award, the Devesty-Williams Scholarship and the Bill Carey Award for Journalist of the Year.

Finally, the club inducted Scott Atkinson, longtime news director for WWNY-TV, into the Syracuse Press Club Wall of Distinction.

Congratulations to our finalists and thanks to all of this year’s entrants for providing central and northern New York with essential journalism.

See more photos (by photographer Herm Card) of the 2022 awards ceremony and winners on the SPC Facebook page.

Why do some categories have more finalists?

To make our contest more equitable across categories and to maintain its competitiveness, we introduced a new rule this year that limits the number of awards in each category based on the number of entries. For example, if a category only has three submissions, only the top-ranked entry will receive a prize. If a category has 15 or more entries, first place, second place, and up to three honorable mentions could be awarded. You can review the complete scale on the contest’s rules and eligibility page.

We do give the judges discretion. If the judges determine some entries in a category fail to meet the threshold of award quality, they may choose to select as few award recipients as they deem appropriate.

A competitive year

This year marks one of our most competitive contests in recent memory. We received more than 400 entries across 57 categories. Our judges from partner press clubs in California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin had the daunting task of reviewing and ranking the top entries for each category. On average, only one-third of the entries submitted in each category earned a spot on the finalists’ list.

Winners

Best Overall Magazine

1st place: Advance Media New York, Central New York Magazine (January/February), Mary Jo Kravec, Amy Bleier Long, Sue Santola
2nd place: New York Horse, Janis Barth
Honorable Mention: Local News, Inc., Oswego County Business Magazine, Staff
Honorable Mention: Family Times, Courtney Kless

Best Newsletter or Trade Publication

1st place: Data Key Communications, Northeast Dairy Magazine, Caroline Reff
2nd place: Jewish Federation Of Central New York Newsletter, Barbara Davis

Online Journalism

Best News Website

1st place: Advance Media New York, syracuse.com, Syracuse.com Staff
Second place: WWNY-TV, wwnytv.com, Diane Rutherford, Ron Robertson, Ashley Seybolt
Honorable Mention: The Citizen, auburnpub.com, Robert Harding, The Citizen staff
Honorable Mention: Spectrum News 1, spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny, Spectrum News 1 Digital Staff

Best Multimedia Story

1st place: The Citizen, A Christmas Miracle, Kevin Rivoli, Robert Harding
2nd place: FingerLakes1.com, Investigation reveals arrests never happened, raising questions about Cayuga Nation police, court system, Gabriel Pietrorazio
Honorable Mention: WSTM/WTVH, The Map: Segregated Syracuse, Matt Mulcahy
Honorable Mention: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Syracuse painter ditched alcohol for art, finishes 3-story mural on Northside, Katrina Tulloch

Judges’ comment on winner: “This story puts a human face on the severity of covid-19. It also demonstrates the impact and importance of the healthcare system in our ability to beat the virus. The writer drew out emotions that have me rooting for Bill to be able to walk his dog this spring.“

Best Breaking News

1st place: WSTM/WTVH, Governor Cuomo Resigns, Jana Barnello, Megan Coleman, Conor Wight
2nd place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Central NY mom passes out driving on busy road. What her son did next saved the day, Catie O’Toole
Honorable Mention: urbancny.com, Teen Deaths Stuns Community: Mayor Walsh and City Leaders Respond to Tragic Deaths, Kenneth Jackson
Honorable Mention: Spectrum News 1, Cuomo Attorney Offers Apology To State Trooper, Spectrum News 1 Digital Staff

Judges’ comment on winner: “Gov. Cuomo’s resignation was a major news story, and CNY Central covered it with the appropriate range of resources, angles and channels. It’s old-school journalism that serves the community.“

Best Video Journalism

1st place: Syracuse.com, Anthony Broadwater’s Wrongful Conviction and Adventures in Upstate NY, Katrina Tulloch
2nd place: WSTM/WTVH, Boeheim Ball 2021, Jana Barnello, Westbrook Shortell

Best Blog

1st place: WSTM/WTVH, Matt’s Memo, Matt Mulcahy
2nd place: The Citizen, Eye on NY, Robert Harding

Best Online Photos & Graphics

1st place: Spectrum News 1, Comparing Number of COVID-19 Deaths By County, Luke Parsnow

Best Use of Social Media

1st place: WUTR/WFXV-TV, @DavidZEdelstein, David Zachary Edelstein
2nd place: @SyracuseHistory, David Haas
Honorable Mention: WSTM/WTVH, The Fallout: The Governor is Out, Jana Barnello

Photography

The Carl Single Award for Best Spot News Photography

1st place: Cortland Standard, Fire Strikes in Cortland, Todd R. McAdam
2nd place: The Stand Newspaper, March for Justice for I-81, Mike Greenlar

Best Feature Photo

1st place: Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Fighting Food Insecurity, Zachary J. Krahmer
2nd place: Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Rip the Runway, Max Mimaroglu

Best Photo Essay

1st place: Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Welcome to the Spot, Gavin Liddell
2nd place: Syracuse.com, More than a game, Dennis Nett
Honorable mention: Newhouse School at Syracuse University, For the Win, TJ Shaw

Judge’s comment on winner: “This is a terrific essay. I enjoyed the emotions displayed by the people – I felt what they were feeling. I love all the different angles from which photos were taken – I felt like I was there or I could find it without directions. And it was a nice touch to have the photos without people that showed the sense of place.“

Best Portrait

1st place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Nowhere to go, Dennis Nett
2nd place: The Stand Newspaper, Photo Walk, Lisa Salisbury Hackley
Honorable mention: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Unreliable, Scott Schild

Judge’s comment on winner: “The portrait of Ms. Smith tells the story even without a caption. Nicely composed and full of emotion. The portrait gives me a lot of information and makes me curious for more. Just a beautiful shot.“

Best Sports Photo

1st place: Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Flying High, Isaiah Vazquez
2nd place: Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Reflecting on a Win, Isaiah Vazquez
Honorable mention: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Eyes on the prize, Dennis Nett
Honorable mention: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Over the top, Dennis Nett

All Print

Best Front Page Design

1st place: Jewish Federation Of Central New York, Barbara Davis, Kim Miers
2ond place: The Stand Newspaper, Ashley Kang, Kevin Camelo Bonilla

Best Editorial

1st place: Cortland Standard, The Kindness that Kills, Todd R. McAdam
2nd place: The Palladium-Times, The promise of living, Seth Wallace
Honorable mention: The Palladium-Times, The kids are definitely not all right, Nicole Hube
Honorable mention: The Reporter, We lost a year, Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Judge’s comment on winner: “If the measure of an editorial is its effect, this calling out of a legislative leader for undercutting the governor mid-pandemic is a clear winner – being at least partially responsible for the end of his appointment.“

Best Spot News

1st place: The Stand Newspaper, First Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Held in the South Side, Violet Lazarus

Best Critique

1st place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, AJR delivers effervescent ‘Bang!’ of a show, draws third biggest crowd in NYS Fair history, Katrina Tulloch
2nd place: The Reporter, Black and a slave, white and a Jew, Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Judge’s comment on winner: “Energetic review peppered with adjectives that enhanced the writing. Good balance of review and context for the band.”

Best Headline Writing

1st place: Central New York Magazine, Mind your bin-ness; Forkin’ the road; It’s a crou, crou summer, MJ Kravec

Best Column

1st place: The Reporter, Being a chaplain, not a theologian, Rabbi Rachel Esserman
2nd place: The Stand Newspaper, Homegrown Opera, Reggie Seigler
Honorable mention: The Stand Newspaper, Opinion: Gerrypandering, Jeff Kramer

Print Daily

Best Daily Human Interest Feature or Series

1st place: The Palladium-Times, Celebrating the power of forgiveness, Eddie Velazquez
2nd place: Advance Media New York, Jenn Sherman: Why Peloton’s first instructor is such a huge Syracuse fan, Charlie Miller

Best Daily Investigative Story or Series

1st place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Police lies, a botched investigation and a homicide confession: ‘I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do’, Douglass Dowty

Judge’s comment on winner: “This is a sad, maddening story, so well-told. The writer made excellent use of resources available – the body cam footage, FOIA records, interviews with police and Adam’s lawyer – to bring to light this person’s experience that is, evidently, not that unusual.”

Best Daily Sports Story

1st place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Some Syracuse middle school rookies take a chance on baseball and learn something more, Christopher Carlson
2nd place: The Citizen, Silver season: Auburn football coach Moskov looks back on career ahead of Year 25, Justin Ritzel
Honorable mention: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, When Liverpool’s quarterback broke his ankle, his father had 1 thought: ‘I’m never going to coach him again’, Christopher Carlson

Best Daily News Feature or Series

1st place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, How nurses, troops and public workers made NY State Fair one of America’s busiest vaccine sites, Teri Weaver, N. Scott Trimble
2nd place: Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, First Look, Charlie Miller
Honorable mention: Cortland Standard, A Dream for Dwyer, Valerie Puma

Print Non-Daily

Best Non-Daily Sports Story

1st place: New York Horse, Everyone Should Have a Chance, Janis Barth
2nd place: The Stand Newspaper, The Darkness Before Light, Kambui Bomani

Judge’s comment on winner: “A compassionate, interesting tale of a relatively little-known sport — and how it brings a sense of normalcy to one athlete.”

Best Non-Daily News Feature or Series

1st place: The Stand Newspaper, One in 10 Syracuse Children Have Elevated Blood Lead Levels, Sydney Gold
2nd place: Oswego County Business Magazine, Is New York’s Soaring Craft Beverage Industry Due for a Slowdown?, Kenneth Sturtz

Best Non-Daily Human Interest Feature or Series

1st place: New York Horse, Mustang Strong, Renee Gadoua
2nd place: The Stand Newspaper, Speaking Their Love Language, Marnie Muñoz

Print Special Interest

Best News Feature or Series

1st place: The Catholic Sun, Brady Market, Tom Maguire
2nd place: In Good Health, How a Young Buffalo Woman Learned to Embrace Hearing Loss, Kenneth Sturtz

Best Investigative Story or Series

1st place: Oswego County Business Magazine, The Digital Divide, Kenneth Sturtz

Judge’s comment on winner: “This is a very comprehensive and enterprising story covering a topic most people take for granted — broadband access. It presents a lot of useful information yet doesn’t forget to show the human side by presenting real people who are affected by not being able to easily use the internet. It is a well written, well sourced and well researched piece, an all-around great job.”

Best Human Interest Feature or Series

1st place: Oswego County Business Magazine, Alfred Jacques: The Stick Maker, Kenneth Sturtz
2nd place: Oswego County Business Magazine, NYS Fair Director Says Attention to Detail Key to Success as Fair Returns, Kenneth Sturtz
Honorable mention: Central New York Magazine, CNY Scout – Fashion Statement, Amy Bleier Long

Judge’s comment on winner: “This was a delightful read. The author’s descriptions put the reader at the scene, smelling the workshop and hearing the artist at work. Nice work giving another perspective to the history (and artistry) behind a piece of “ordinary” sports equipment.”