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COLUMBUS -- The Marietta Times won several reporting and design awards at the 2023 Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Better Newspaper Contest.
The Ohio News Media Association, which represents all Ohio newspapers, held its 2023 convention back in May in Columbus.
The Ohio Associated Press Media Editors honors important journalism through annual awards. This year's contest included five divisions in more than 25 categories including General Excellence.
The Times won six awards in total, including newspaper, body of work, and sports awards. The newspaper competes in the Division I class, a daily newspaper with up to 7,999 circulations.
Executive Editor Christina Myer won third place for both Best Editorial Writer for high achievement and dedication to the craft of editorial writing and Best Public Service for her story on the Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee.
"I am proud of our newsroom team, but the awards are no surprise," Myer said. "I am fortunate to witness everyday how hard they work for our readers."
The Times' Sports Department won third place for Best Special Sports Section for the 2022 Pigskin Preview. The Best Special Sports Section award is for any section dealing with sports or recreation, such as a special on a high school basketball tournament, a professional football season preview or a look-ahead to the hunting season.
Staff Reporter Evan Bevins won first place for Best Spot News Coverage for his story on the Reno Plane Crash. The Best Spot News Coverage award is for coverage of a breaking news event where no planning was possible.
"Our goal is first and foremost to inform our readers with accurate and timely information, both online and in print," said Bevins.
Online Manager, Commercial Print Coordinator, and News and Sentinel Race Co-Director Art Smith won second place for Best Full Page Design.
"Awards are always nice to win, they are an acknowledgment that we are serving our readers with compelling information that helps area residents be more aware of the world around them," Smith said.
Bevins and Smith in a collaborative effort also won first place Best Digital Presence for their online work for The Marietta Times website.
The Best Digital Presence award is for a newspaper's entire digital presentation, including content, overall appearance, ease of navigation, success at building an online audience and whether the site appears to be a valuable resource to the community.
"Congratulations to our newsroom team here at The Marietta Times," said Times Publisher Jim Spanner. "Our readers expect and deserve a quality local newspaper, and our award-winning staff works hard every day to produce just that."