State’s best news website? The Associated Press says you’re looking at it

The Telegraph’s macon.com was named the top website, and its reporters and photographers won other top honors at the 2017 Georgia Associated Press Media Editors Broadcast and Newspaper Awards, which were announced Saturday in Atlanta.

The staff’s work on the funeral of slain Peach County sheriff’s Sgt. Patrick Sondron was chosen for the first-place award in Best Multiplatform Coverage of a Single Story.

The Telegraph competed against other newspapers in the state’s largest-circulation division, which includes papers in Columbus, Savannah, Augusta and Atlanta, for awards for work published in 2016.

Reporter Joe Kovac Jr. won first place in the deadline reporting category for his story about a court hearing for Christopher Keith Calmer, the man eventually convicted of killing two Peach County sheriff’s deputies.

In the same category, reporter Amy Leigh Womack won second place for her story about a federal lawsuit against former Bibb County schools Superintendent Romain Dallemand and other defendants. Womack also won second place for non-deadline reporting for a story about the death of a 5-year-old girl and how the system designed to protect her failed her.

Telegraph photographers won seven awards, including first place for both spot news photo and sports action photo.

Jason Vorhees won the top sports action photo award for his shot of a Stratford Academy basketball player dunking over an opponent. Vorhees won third place in the same category for a photo of a Warner Robins High School football player losing his helmet while being tackled.

Vorhees also won a second place award in the sports feature photo category for his shot of Houston County High School baseball player screaming while being congratulated by teammates after a home run. His photos of a rodeo camp won third place for best picture story.

The top spot news photo was by Telegraph photo chief Woody Marshall for his image of a woman being restrained during a courtroom outburst. Marshall took second place in the same category for his photo of honor guard members standing at attention in the rain at the graveside service for slain Eastman police officer Tim Smith.

Beau Cabell won third place in the feature photo category for his shot of a sack race at Jarrell Plantation.

This story was originally published June 25, 2017 at 1:00 AM with the headline "State’s best news website? The Associated Press says you’re looking at it."