COLUMBUS - WTOL-TV, Channel 11, received seven first-place awards and WTVG-TV, Channel 13, garnered two Sunday at the annual Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters luncheon.
Photographer Paul Kwapich had a hand in three of WTOL's first-place awards, and reporter Jonathan Walsh was involved in two.
WTVG sports director Rob Powers was involved with both of his station's first-place awards.
WTOL placed first in the following categories: Best Continuing Coverage (Walsh and Rachel Pfanner for "Toledo Firefighter and Police Layoffs"); Best Spot News Coverage ("Crane Collapse"); Extraordinary Coverage of a Scheduled Event (Walsh and Kwapich for "World War II Memorial"); Best Photographer (Kwapich); Best Producer (Alan Baker; the 6 p.m. newscast of June 2 was submitted); Best Use of Photography (Kwapich for "The Ride"), and Best Web site.
WTVG received first-place awards for Outstanding Sports Operation and Best Regularly Scheduled Sports.
WTVG received three second-place awards (Best Enterprise Reporting, Best Producer, and Best Sports Broadcaster), and WTOL received two (Best Photographer and Best Use of Photography).
Toledo stations competed in the medium-market division. Other TV markets in the division were Dayton, Akron, Youngstown, and Elyria. Broadcasters in North Carolina judged the entries.
In the small-market TV competition, Lima's WLIO-TV received a first-place award for Best Use of Photography (Stacey Myers Cook for "Post Graduate Living").
Lima's WIMA-AM and Findlay's WFIN-AM were the only area radio stations to receive first-place awards. WIMA won for Best Broadcast Writing and WFIN for Best Feature Reporting.
Awards were given in 21 categories covering news, sports, and weather reporting.