Akron Beacon Journal earns first place honors in Ohio's Best Journalism Contest

The Akron Beacon Journal/BeaconJournal.com earned several first-place awards in the 2024 Ohio’s Best Journalism Contest , sponsored by the Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The newsroom's Akron in the Crossfire series examining gun violence in the city earned first place for Best Public Service/Social Issues Reporting in the under-60,000 circulation category.

The judges said the series was a "heartbreaking but well-written account of a community tragedy."

Staff members who contributed to the series included reporters Doug Livingston, Anthony Thompson, Jennifer Pignolet, Betty Lin-Fisher and Amanda Garrett and photojournalists Phil Masturzo, Mike Cardew and Jeff Lange.

Pignolet also won first place in the Best Children's/Education Issues Reporting category.

"I love how the articles always start with a student or a parent doing something," the judges wrote. "The author gives the reader a very cool perspective, and uses descriptors that make me feel like I’m in the back of the classroom or a fly on the wall. Pretty inspired writing."

Lin-Fisher , who currently works as a consumer reporter for USA TODAY, won first place in the Best Business/Consumer Reporting category for stories she wrote as a Beacon Journal reporter in 2023.

The judges said Lin-Fisher "conducts good consumer watchdog reporting on topical issues while giving voice to those directly impacted."

Lin-Fisher also earned first-place honors for Best Science/Medical/Health Care Reporting.

"These stories were incredibly touching and resonate widely," the judges wrote. "I especially liked the one about the hospice care home. Well done."

Chaos in Ohio's Youth Lockups , a special report by the staffs of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal, The Canton Repository and the USA TODAY Network Ohio state bureau, won first place for Best Special Section and second place for Best Investigative Reporting in the large newspaper division.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Beacon Journal earns first place honors in Ohio's Best Journalism Contest