WKSU staff was honored with 10 awards from Ohio Associated Press Media Editors (OAPME) in a Columbus ceremony on May 4. Top honors went to WKSU for General Excellence-Radio, the fifth consecutive year the newsroom earned the acknowledgement. The OAPME Awards reflect stand-out work created in 2018.
WKSU “Morning Edition” host Amanda Rabinowitz repeated last year’s success with a first-place award for Best Sportscast for her conversation with Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto about mental health and Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love. Rabinowitz and Pluto are heard discussing sports weekly in the Wednesday View from Pluto segment. Rabinowitz was recognized as well with a second-place nod for Best Anchor.
Reporter/producer Kabir Bhatia followed up 2018’s win for Best Use of Sound with a first-place award in the same category for 2019. His sound-rich story focused on community tryouts for people wanting to sing the National Anthem for the Akron RubberDucks. Judges said, “In this feature, the sound is the story, and it’s captured well.”
The WKSU News Staff shared two first-place prizes for group efforts. The six-part series “Navigating the Path to Mental Health” examined access and barriers to mental health care in Northeast Ohio. The series culminated with a community forum and mental health fair at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Station staff was also honored for regional coverage of the 2018 midterm elections, including field reporting and Facebook Live interviews of in-studio guest experts.
Other second-place awards went to reporter/producer and local “All Things Considered” host Jeff St. Clair for Best Enterprise Reporting (for a pair of reports on “Industry 4.0” in Cleveland) and for Best Newscast, Mark Arehart for Best Spot News Coverage (for his story on the launch of Goodyear’s final Blimp in its Wingfoot series); and the WKSU News and Digital staff for Best Digital Presence.