Telegraph wins 20 GPA awards

The Telegraph won 20 Georgia Press Association awards Friday night in the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest, including a first-place win in the community service category for coverage of commercial blight in Macon-Bibb County.

This is the second straight year Telegraph journalists were recognized for their stories about blight. Last year, The Telegraph’s nine-day series on residential blight captured first place in the same category.

“Producing strong public service journalism is our mission,” said Sherrie Marshall, executive editor of The Telegraph. “It is what drives our news staff even in this era of digital disruption, increasing partisan strife and incivility and pushback on our open government efforts.

“We don't do what we do to win awards, but it is an affirmation of our mission when our work is recognized.”

The Telegraph also brought home four other first-place wins, including education writing and headline writing. In addition, The Telegraph’s photo staff swept the spot news photo and sports feature photo categories, winning first-, second- and third-place prizes.

Also Friday, Telegraph reporter Laura Corley won the Emerging Journalist Award for weekly newspapers. Corley, who won for her work at the weekly Douglas County Sentinel, is now a public safety reporter at The Telegraph.

The awards were presented during the press association’s 130th annual convention on Jekyll Island. The Telegraph was judged against other daily newspapers in the state with print circulations of 25,000 or larger.

The complete list of Telegraph wins are:

▪  First place for education writing, Jeremy Timmerman;

▪  First place for community service;

▪  First place for headline writing, Liz Fabian;

▪  First place for spot news photo, Woody Marshall;

▪  First place for sports feature photo, Woody Marshall;

▪  Second place for hard news writing, Liz Fabian;

▪  Second place for feature photo, Beau Cabell;

▪  Second place for spot news photo, Woody Marshall;

▪  Second place for sports feature photo, Beau Cabell;

▪  Second place for lifestyle/feature column, Mark Ballard;

▪  Third place for religion writing, Ed Grisamore;

▪  Third place for layout and design;

▪  Third place for page one;

▪  Third place for general excellence;

▪  Third place for humorous column, Joe Kovac Jr.;

▪  Third place for photo essay, Jason Vorhees;

▪  Third place for sports feature photo, Beau Cabell;

▪  Third place for spot news photo, Beau Cabell;

▪  Third place for sports photograph, Jason Vorhees; and

▪  Third place for best photo gallery on a newspaper web site, Beau Cabell and Woody Marshall.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Telegraph wins 20 GPA awards."