The Windsor Star took home four awards at this year’s Ontario Newspaper Awards held in Hamilton Saturday night.
Sarah Sacheli won both the feature writing and municipal affairs reporting awards.
“She can do the digging and when the digging is done, she can spin the tale,” judges wrote about Sacheli and her reporting skills. “Her riveting reports on the culture of brutality in the Windsor police force exemplify responsible for civic journalism.”
Jason Kryk won photojournalist of the year and Tyler Brownbridge won the online video award.
Kryk also took home photojournalist of the year in 2008 and 2006.
Judges said Kryk’s winning portfolio highlighted his many strengths through its collection of short photo essays, top sports and great features that were worthy of recognition.
Brownbridge impressed judges through his short video about a young bride paralysed in a car accident but determined to walk down the aisle on her wedding day.
Sacheli was also honoured as runner-up in the categories of journalist of the year and general news feature writing.
Kryk also got runner up in the online video category. Brownbridge received runner-up as photojournalist of the year, spot news photography and was alongside Dan Janisse in getting runner-up in the feature photography category.
Doug Schmidt and Brian Cross got runner-up in the investigative reporting category for their work on uncovering how the provincial government should have known Lou Vozza, the owner of the old Grace Hospital site, was in deep financial trouble when he was awarded the contract to construct a new long-term care facility there.
Schmidt also got runner-up as a team with Trevor Wilhelm and Monica Wolfson in the category of spot news writing for their coverage of the Leamington boat crash last summer where three people were killed.
Cross also got runner-up with Grace Macaluso and Craig Pearson in the category of feature writing.
Anne Jarvis got runner-up for opinion writing and Kristie Pearce received runner-up for student journalist of the year.
“These awards reflect the high caliber of work done by our entire editorial staff,” said Marty Beneteau, the Star’s publisher and editor-in-chief. “They achieve this quality against the formidable task of delivering content in real time to our digital platforms.”
-Article by the Windsor Star.
