The Post-Gazette won more honors than any large-circulation newspaper in the state in the Keystone Press Awards contest,
making it the sweepstakes champion in Division I of the annual competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
First-place winners:
- Spot News: coverage of the release of the Freeh Report on the investigation into the Sandusky scandal at Penn State University (reporters Jon Schmitz, Paula Ward, Mark Dent, Moriah Balingit).
- Ongoing News Coverage: multiple stories surrounding the shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute (staff award, lead reporters were Sean Hamill, Jonathan Silver and Michael Fuoco).
- Special Project: 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic (staff award, lead reporters were Maria Sciullo and David Templeton).
- Series: “Locked and Dammed,” a multiday look at the perilous condition of the region’s, and nation’s, waterway control system (Len Boselovic).
- Sports story: narrative feature on a Penn State recruit dealing with a violent family tragedy (Brady McCollough).
- News Beat Reporting: portfolio of higher education stories covering news and issues on campuses across Pennsylvania and in West Virginia (Bill Schackner).
- News Photo: rescue of an abducted baby (Michael Henninger).
- Feature Photo: a woman living with tainted water showers outside during a rainstorm (Julia Rendleman).
- Page Design: a portfolio of Weekend and Suburban section front designs (Ben Howard).
- Video Storytelling: water problems at the Woodlands (Julia Rendleman).
2nd-place winners:
- Series: “The Luckiest Man Alive,” an occasional series in The Pittsburgh Press and Post-Gazette on Neil Alexander as he and his family cope with his ALS diagnosis (Kaitlynn Riely).
- News Feature Story: how gunshot survivors heal and move on (Mark Roth).
- Online Special Project: Pipeline, the PG’s niche website on Marcellus Shale development (Erich Schwartzel).
- Sports Beat Reporting: a portfolio of high school sports stories, from features to analysis to an obituary (Mike White).
- Feature Photo: student dancers in silhouette at Point State Park (Lake Fong).
- Photo Story: portraits of the Tom and Mary Ellen Clark clan of McKeesport (Michael Henninger).
- Video Storytelling: “A Life Hijacked,” the latest chapter in a story about an ex-pilot’s battle with Alzheimer’s (Steve Mellon).
Honorable mentions:
- Sports event coverage: NCAA tournament coverage (staff award).
- Online Special Project: “Heroin’s Siren Song” (Michael Fuoco, Rebecca Droke, Andrew McGill).
- News Photo: family reacts to death of Odell Brown (Darrell Sapp).
- Feature Photo: Tea Party kicks off in Cranberry (Michael Henninger).
- Graphic/Photo Illustration: portfolio of illustrations from artist Daniel Marsula. Dan also was recognized in a best-of-show category, Distinguished Visual Work, for a portfolio of illustrations that ran in the PG’s Sunday Forum section. He has won this prestigious award in three of the past four years.
Other newspapers competing with the PG in Division 1 of the competition include The Philadelphia Inquirer, which won 15 awards; the Philadelphia Daily News (15 awards); The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News (10); Lancaster Newspapers (7); The (Allentown) Morning Call (6); and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (3).