Bob Dyer & others win state awards

For 2017 the Society of Professional Journalists chapters in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus for their Best Journalism contest named the BJ’s Bob Dyer the best columnist.

Bob has been named best columnist in Ohio so often that they should just change it to the Bob Dyer Award.

The BJ was named best daily newspaper for 75,000 or higher circulation. Take that, PD!

Other firsts with Ol’ Blue Walls inhabitants went to Mark J. Price for Best Headline Writing, retired managing editor Doug Oplinger for Best Media Criticism, Michael Douglas for Best Political Commentary and Betty Lin-Fisher for Best Business Profile.

Bob DeMay gets top Ohio photographers honor

BJ picture editor Bob DeMay received the Robert S. Carson Award, the highest honor in the Ohio News Photographers Association organization, at the 2014 Annual Judging and Seminar.

Bob DeMay

DeMay, at the BJ since 1999, has been in ONPA for the 30 years, including ONPA Chairman of the Board 1998-2010, a driving force in the annual contest and the webmaster for onpa.org and the ONPA blog.

Kimberly Barth, BJ director of photography and graphics, is the ONPA treasurer.

Ed Suba Jr. was second in the General News category and third in the News Picture story, Phil Masturzo second in Sports Action and

Karen Schiely got Award of Excellence in the Product Illustration category.

Sixty-nine visual journalists from across the state submitted 903 entries in the 64th annual contest.

Eamon Queeney from the Columbus Dispatch and Jessica Phelps from the Newark Advocate were named Ohio News Photographers of the Year for 2014.

Andy Wallace of WBNS-TV in Columbus was named the 2014 ONPA Television Photographer of the Year. WBNS-TV in Columbus was named ONPA Station of the Year.

BJ wins 1, PD 4 Black Journalists Awards

BJ reporters Doug Livingston and Dave Scott won 2014 National Association of Black Journalists Awards for their series on black, poor children hit by cars.

The Plain Dealer won awards in four categories.

In Newspaper Investigative category for a series by Rachel Dissell, Leila Atassi and Margaret Bernstein on reinvestigating rape.

In Special Project category for the Angela Townsend and Lynn Ischay series on clues to cancer.

In the Photography: Single Image category for Lonnie Timmons III’s photo of Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown.

And for Andrea Levy’s “Gifted” series.