Dispatch wins 9 first-place awards, including top website at Ohio APME

The Columbus Dispatch and its staff won nearly two dozen awards Sunday in the annual Ohio Associated Press Media Editors contest — including nine first-place awards — competing against Ohio’s largest newspapers.

First-place awards included Dispatch.com for best digital presence — the fourth year in a row the website has received that recognition — and the Dispatch sports staff for best daily sports section. 

The Dispatch also won first place in the best spot news coverage category for coverage of the death of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, who was fatally shot on April 20, 2021 by a Columbus police officer, sparking outrage and protests throughout the city. The Dispatch additionally placed second in that same category for its coverage of the death of Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks in a fireworks incident.

A Dispatch team led by Sheridan Hendrix and Céilí Doyle won first place for best digital project for “Descendants of Hope: The Legacy of Ohio’s Underground Railroad.” The Dispatch placed third in the same category for “Broken Pledge,” a podcast and story series about fraternity hazing and the death of Collin Wiant, a student at Ohio University.

Other first-place winners were photojournalist Adam Cairns for best feature photo for “Snowpocalypse,” an image of a man in a horse mask sledding down a hill following a snowstorm; and photojournalist Joshua A. Bickel, best photo story for a series of images of Drum Major Austin Bowman with the Ohio State University Marching Band.

Amelia Robinson, Dispatch opinion and community engagement editor, was chosen as best editorial writer, while Danae King was selected as the best news writer, both for a collection of their work.