Press Club of Toledo honors Blade, others

Guest speakers Barbara and John Cochran, a former ABC News reporter, answer questions about journalism and politics from the audience Wednesday at the Toledo Club.

The Blade received two distinctions Wednesday from the Press Club of Toledo during the annual Touchstone Awards ceremony at the Toledo Club.

Blade staff writer Taylor Dungjen received the excellence in journalism Touchstone Award for new media. She is the newspaper's crime reporter, and her "Ride Along" blog is featured on toledoblade.com.

Members of the Indianapolis Press Club, who were judges for the "excellence in media" Touchstone awards, noted that Ms. Dungjen on the blog "delivers news in a unique way with a compelling viewpoint."

The excellence in journalism for daily print category went to former Blade staff writers Claudia Boyd-Barrett and Tony Cook for their series on favoritism in housing rehabilitation contracts in Toledo's Department of Neighborhoods.

PHOTO GALLERY: 2012 Touchstone Awards

Their articles, which examined the way the neighborhoods department awarded federally funded contracts, led to the firing of two top city officials.

"This is the kind of reporting that newspapers do best — aggressively covering an issue with breaking stories and in-depth investigative reporting to provide the community with insight and understanding into complex issues," the judges wrote.

The excellence in journalism in the nondaily category went to Jason Webber of the Toledo City Paper.

In the broadcasting category, the Touchstone was awarded to Bill Hormann of WTVG-TV, Channel 13.

The Press Club also presents Touchstones for community contributions, with those honored selected by a panel of local judges.

The Touchstone Contributor Award was presented to ProMedica for "embracing values of charitable service to improve the health and well-being of members of our community."

The Lifetime Achiever Touchstone went to Baldemar Velasquez, founder and president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. Judges noted his record as a humanitarian, activist, and negotiator and that he "is recognized in several countries for his commitment to human dignity and justice."

The Golden Touchstone was awarded to the late Frank Venner, a longtime Toledo broadcaster who died Aug. 3. Mr. Venner was well known as an anchor of evening newscasts on WSPD-TV — which became WTVG — for his "Weather-in-the-Weather" segments broadcast live from the Commodore Perry Hotel and as longtime moderator of the high school quiz program.

The award was accepted by Mr. Venner's son Mike.

The Bernard F. Judy scholarships, named for the late editor-in-chief of The Blade, were presented to McKenzie Kuehnlein of the University of Toledo and Shirley O'Nan of Bowling Green State University.

Ron Royhab, a retired vice president and executive editor of The Blade, was master of ceremonies for the evening.

The keynote speakers, veteran journalists Barbara and John Cochran, offered insights into presidential politics and the state of the news business.

Mr. Cochran, a retired ABC News senior correspondent, spoke of the 1960 presidential debate and of covering President George W. Bush on Sept. 11, 2001.

In the history of television news, "I think the best job we ever did was on 9-11," he said.

His wife, a former print and broadcast news executive, applauded the growth of fact-checking organizations.