Beacon Journal wins journalism awards

The Beacon Journal is among the Ohio news organizations earning top honors from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists.

In the Best of Show category, the Beacon Journal's David Giffels was named best columnist in Ohio.

The newspaper also captured several first-place awards, including reporter Bob Downing for best coverage of the environment for his articles on E-Check. Television critic R.D. Heldenfels won first place for best media criticism for a series of columns on Election 2004, and sportswriter Tom Reed won first place for best sports profile for ``Greece Calls Akron Man Home.''

Reporter Phil Trexler earned top honors for best use of public record for an article on license suspensions.

To read about others winning awards, click on the headline to read the full story which apppeared in the Beacon Journal on Wednesday, July 6, 2005.