Local TV broadcasters win state awards

5/23/2006

Powers

COLUMBUS - WTVG-TV, Channel 13, received five first-place awards while WTOL-TV, Channel 11, and WNWO-TV, Channel 24, garnered three apiece Sunday at the annual Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters luncheon.

WUPW-TV, Channel 36, received one first-place award.

Toledo stations competed in the medium-market division. Other TV markets in the division include Dayton, Akron, and Youngstown.

WTVG placed first in the following categories: Best Regularly Scheduled News; Outstanding Sports Operation; Best Sports Broadcaster (Rob Powers); Best Spot News Coverage (Alexis Means, reporter, and Eric Hunker, videographer, for "Gunman in School"), and Best Producer (Matt Simansky).

WTOL's first-place awards: Outstanding News Operation; Best Continuing Coverage (Jonathan Walsh, reporter, for "A Boy Left Behind"), and Best Web Site.

WNWO's first-place awards: Best Anchor (Jim Blue); Best Reporter (Kevin Milliken), and Best Feature Reporting (Milliken and Patrick Redmond, videographer, for "Toilet Town").

WUPW was honored for Extraordinary Coverage of a Scheduled Event (Karl Rundgren, executive producer, and Casey Jouett, chief editor, for "You Decide 2005 Election Preview Special").

In the small-market division, Lima's WLIO-TV first-place awards in the following categories: Outstanding News Operation; Outstanding Weather Operation; Best Anchor (Jeff Fitzgerald); Best Reporter (Josh Poland); Best Continuing Coverage (for "Ice Storm"); Best Feature Reporting (Billi Hazle, reporter, and Stacey Myers Cook, videographer, for "Small Town, Big Symphony"), and Best Photographer (Myers Cook).

Awards were given in 22 categories covering news, sports, and weather reporting. The entries were judged by broadcasters in Minnesota.