The Syracuse Press Club congratulates the winners for the 48th annual Professional Recognition Awards. The recipients were honored during our awards dinner on Saturday, May 2nd at the Everson Museum.
Why do some categories have more finalists?
To make our contest more equitable across categories and to maintain its competitiveness, we limit the number of awards in each category based on the number of entries. For example, if a category has three submissions, only the top-ranked entry will receive a prize. If a category has 15 or more entries, first place, second place, and two honorable mentions could be awarded. You can review the complete scale on the contest’s rules and eligibility page.
We do give the judges discretion. If the judges determine some entries in a category fail to meet the threshold of award quality, they may choose to select as few award recipients as they deem appropriate.
Stiff Competition
We received 372 entries across 56 categories. Our judges from partner press clubs in California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin had the daunting task of reviewing and ranking the top entries for each category.
On behalf of the Syracuse Press Club, congratulations to our finalists and thanks to all of this year’s entrants for providing central and northern New York with essential journalism.
Finalists
Magazine
Best Overall Magazine
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- First place: The Catholic Sun, SOLIS, Most Reverend Douglas J. Lucia, The Catholic Sun Staff
- Second place: 315MOM Magazine, November / December 2025: Holiday Issue, Allison Kenien, Lauren Wojtalewski
Online and Digital Journalism
Multimedia Story
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, The trap of lies, sex and cruelty that killed Sam Nordquist: ‘We went too far this time’, Marnie Eisenstadt, Greta Stuckey, N. Scott Trimble, Christa Lemczak and Lauren Long
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Cheap milk and immigration: A blunt farmer’s uncomfortable truth about NY’s dairy industry, Michelle Breidenbach and N. Scott Trimble
- Honorable mention: Spectrum News 1, Exponential jump in homeless families has New York paying millions to hotels with no end in sight, Emily Kenny and Halena Sepulveda
- Honorable mention: This is CNY, Syracuse’s Willy Wonka, Scientist quits job to launch Adam Brian Chocolate company, Katrina Tulloch
Breaking News
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, A knock at the door, Marnie Eisenstadt and Samantha House
- Second place: Spectrum News 1, Correction officers strike, stage protests at dozens of prisons across N.Y., Spectrum News staff
Best News Website
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- First place: Central Current, Chris Libonati and Maximilian Eyle
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, This is CNY, Advance Media NY staff
Best Use of Social Media
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Dozens deported during ICE raid, Alisun Hernandez, Samantha House
- Second place: Spectrum News 1, Spectrum News on Instagram, Spectrum News digital staff
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, This is CNY, Shot O’Clock, Katrina Tulloch
Best Blog / Newsletter
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- First place: Dirt Nap, Dirt Nap, Jared Paventi
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside Syracuse football, Chris Carlson
- Honorable mention: CNY Central, Brandon’s Bright Spot, Brandon Roth and Dennis Harmon
Graphics
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- First place: CNY Central, Why is heat the #1 killer?, Violet Scibor
Digital Video Journalism
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Upstate Adventures; Home explosion; Precious Arzuga, Christa Lemczak, N. Scott Trimble, Scott Schild
Photography
Carl Single Award for Spot News Photography
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- First place: Spectrum News 1, Employees wait outside the Nutrition Bar Confectioners factory during the Cato ICE raid, Emily Kenny
- Second place: The Palladium-Times, Defendant claims self-defense in Mexico Tops Homicide, Ken Sturtz
Feature Photo
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, We stand with Alex and Yan, N. Scott Trimble
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Anticipation, Dennis Nett
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Pray with me, Dennis Nett
Photo Essay
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- First place: Central Current, A place to call home, Mike Greenlar, Michelle Gabel, Janet Gramza
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside Upstate’s overwhelmed ER, N. Scott Trimble
Portrait
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- First place: Spectrum News 1, Sewage sludge, PFAS and contaminated drinking water, Emily Kenny
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Counting the homeless, Scott Schild
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside the last supper at the Inn Between, Charlie Miller
Sports Photo
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- First place: Met News and Links, Ryan Clifford makes a low bridge to avoid a hit by pitch, Herm Card
- Second place: Met News and Links, Another one bites the dust, Herm Card
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Syracuse Orange center Uche Izoje and Syracuse Orange Aurora Almón battle for a rebound, Scott Schild
Print/Digital News: All
Editorial
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- First place: The Citizen, ICE’s inhumane playbook comes to Auburn, Michael Dowd
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Why is Sheriff Toby Shelley OK with handcuffing this 11-year-old child?, Marie Morelli
- Honorable mention: CNY Central, It takes a lot to get a nickname, Rachel Culver
Spot News
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside the chaotic ICE raid at an Upstate NY factory, Marnie Eisenstadt, Michelle Breidenbach, Finn Lincoln
- Second place: Tompkins Weekly, TeraWulf’s AI data center arrives at the shores of Cayuga Lake, Eddie Velazquez
- Honorable mention: Central Current, Nedrow’s Dragon China shuttered. ICE detained its owner, Patrick McCarthy
Column
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Wee Guide to Syracuse Bathrooms: The pot of luck you really need on St. Patrick’s Parade Day, Charlie Miller
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Fran Brown’s comments on Trebor Pena tell a truth that Syracuse wouldn’t say out loud, Chris Carlson
- Honorable mention: The Palladium-Times, What do we do? We report the news, Charles Ellis
Critique
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, At Touche in Syracuse, an uneven pursuit of perfection, Jacob Pucci
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, No MAGA protests, just a screaming Spider-Man at the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus concert, Katrina Tulloch
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inka’s brings tastes of Peru, pisco and ceviche to downtown Syracuse, Jared Paventi
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Creative starters and stellar service at The Wedge in Syracuse, but the inconsistencies linger, Jared Paventi
Headline Writing
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Wee Guide to Syracuse bathrooms: The pot of luck you really need on St. Patrick’s Parade Day, Charlie Miller
- Second place: The Palladium-Times, Her goose isn’t cooked: Case against lawyer accused of accosting children over geese dismissed, Charles Ellis
- Honorable mention: CNY Central, Mary Kielar
Investigative Story or Series
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, ‘Daddy Josh hit me’: Child welfare workers ignored red flags and sent a boy to his death, Marnie Eisenstadt
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Van Duyn’s shame: Nursing home’s out-of-town owners pocket millions while residents suffer, Douglas Dowty
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside Upstate New York’s more cruel, more aggressive immigration enforcement, Michelle Breidenbach
- Honorable mention: Central Current, Syracuse police expose drivers’ data to search from nationwide law enforcement, immigration officials, Patrick McCarthy
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, The air is so toxic in Onondaga County’s new $23 million sewage building that workers can’t go inside, Glenn Coin
Print/Digital News: Daily
Human Interest Feature or Series
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Meet the 77-year-old Vietnam pilot still in love with lacrosse and scoring on opponents 50 years younger, Connor Pignatello
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Syracuse church yanks late bishop’s name from building. A sex abuse survivor’s request granted, Jon Moss
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Trailblazers and Trendsetters, Katrina Tulloch
Sports Story
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, 10 camps, 10 days, Connor Pignatello
- Second place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, How Syracuse players spent their first paycheck: ‘It made me feel like I did something right’, Chris Carlson, Javon Edmonds, Brent Axe and Justin Girshon
- Honorable mention: Central Current, Sean Kirst: In this city so rich in hoops history, why I asked my students to remember Lawrence Moten, Sean Kirst
News Feature or Series
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- First place: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside the last supper at the Inn Between, an iconic restaurant that served memories, Charlie Miller
- Second place: Central Current, ICE rattled a Central New York village. Then, its police chief partnered with ICE, Patrick McCarthy
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, County promised great-grandma she could stay in her home forever. Now she’s being pushed out for Micron, Glenn Coin
- Honorable mention: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, Inside Upstate’s overwhelmed ER: Where miracles happen and dignity is a casualty, Douglass Dowty
- Honorable mention: Central Current, Before the Deportation, Chris Libonati
Print/Digital News: Non-Daily or Special Interest
Sports Story
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- First place: The Reporter, Sandy at 90 – That’s how to be a good Jew, Bill Simons
News Feature or Series
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- First place: The Catholic Sun, Seeking hospitality for the homeless / Every effort counts, Elizabeth Landry and Tami S. Scott
Human Interest Feature or Series
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- First place: Central Current, Sean Kirst: On Valley hillside, bond of revered lacrosse coach, beloved stickmakers lives on in one young tree, Sean Kirst
- Second place: Offrange, Wheat in your backyard, Jake Zajkowski
- Honorable mention: The Catholic Sun, Sweet dreams, Child, Eileen Jevis
- Honorable mention: Syracuse University School of Education, InclusiveU talks about sex, consent and healthy relationships, Ashley Kang
- Honorable mention: Offrange, Turkeys grazing under solar panels, Jake Zajkowski
Audio Journalism
Human Interest Feature or Series
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- First place: WAER Syracuse Public Media, Sober Gym brings connection, strength and recovery to Syracuse, Evan Fay
Best Interview
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- First place: WCNY, Road to redemption, David Lombardo
- Second place: 95.5 FM The Heat, Herkimer, NY family torn apart by ICE, Ron Klopfanstein
News Feature or Series
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- First place: WAER Syracuse Public Media, Second No Kings rally in Syracuse draws thousands in protest of President Donald Trump, Cate Collins and Brycen Pace
- Second place: WAER Syracuse Public Media, Hamlet of Clark Mills tries to recover after a deadly EF-1 tornado kills three, including twin girls, Alex Past
- Honorable mention: 95.5 FM The Heat, Special Coverage of Transgender Rights Issues, Ron Klopfanstein and Jim Hale
Sports Show
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- First place: CNY Central, Why am I a Mets fan?, Samantha Croston and Ashley Wenskoski
Sports Story
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- First place: Galaxy Media Partners WTKW, Syracuse Basketball and Name, Image and Likeness, Glenn Gomez Adams and Lisa Chelenza
Special Program
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- First place: WAER Syracuse Public Media, Five years after COVID-19, is New York ready for the next pandemic?, Kat Kollins
Regularly Scheduled News Podcast / Radio Program
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- First place: WAER Syracuse Public Media, The American Dream: Stories of the diverse, shifting nature of people’s North Star, Chris Bolt and Chris Fiegel
- Second place: WCNY, Inside Planet Albany, David Lombardo
Student
Student Audio News Story
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- First place: NCC News, Learning without a lifeline, Sofia Destaso
Student Audio Sports Story
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- First place: SUNY Oswego, Equity in SUNY Oswego Athletics, Addie Kotsol
Student Podcast
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- First place: On the Bandwagon, On the Bandwagon staff
Student Audio Feature News Story
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- First place: WAER, Rocky Horror turns 50, Boone Kilpatrick
Student Best Use of Multimedia
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- First place: On the Bandwagon, On the Bandwagon staff
Student Print/Digital News Story
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- First place: The NewsHouse, Narcan is changing Central New York’s approach to overdoses, Kacie Moschella
- Second place: The Daily Orange, ‘Feels like erasure’: SU students denounce ODI closure, People and Culture replacement, Julia Boehning
- Honorable mention: Central Current, Three Baldwinsville police officers took ‘demeaning’ photo of prisoner in 2005, documents reveal, Ahna Fleming, Ellie Rockoff and Brian Cohen
Student Print/Digital Feature Story
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- First place: The Daily Orange, The Peacekeeper: Oren Lyons’ endless quest to preserve Indigenous values, Cooper Andrews
- Second place: The Daily Orange, How Scott Hanson’s Syracuse walk-on career prepped his broadcasting stardom, Aiden Stepansky
- Honorable mention: The Daily Orange, Sign Guy wants you to see his positive messages, not know his name, Charlotte Price
- Honorable mention: The Daily Orange, Lacrosse Artist: Roy Simmons Jr. didn’t just teach lacrosse, Zachary Wolf
Student Print/Digital Sports Story
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- First place: The NewsHouse, Female interns speak out on bias and double standards within SU football, Lily Newman
- Second place: The Daily Orange, A Dream Life: Lawrence ‘Poetry’ Moten remembered as girl dad, SU’s greatest scorer, Cooper Andrews
- Honorable mention: The Daily Orange, Free spirit: Within an exuberant personality, Tiana Mangakahia lived her life to the fullest, Mauricio Palmar
- Honorable mention: The NewsHouse, Upstate baseball booms with Canal, Jack Belanger and Eric Finley
Student Television/Video News Story
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- First place: NCC News and Citrus TV, Immigration enforcement in CNY affecting agriculture industry, Jackson Breslin
- Second place: Citrus TV, No King’s Rally takes over Erie Boulevard, Moira Vaughan
Student Television/Video Feature Story
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- First place: NCC News, A woven history: Native traditions kept alive through art, Anjana Dasam
- Second place: NCC News, Hire Ground: Hand up, not hand out, Devin Andrews, Alex Fairchild and Dillon Buck
Student Television/ Video Sports Story
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- First place: SUNY Oswego, Rivalry, Robert Finger
Television
Investigative Story or Series
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- First place: CNY Central, Disturbing confessions in court docs, Conor Wight
- Second place: WSYR, Missed Warnings, Rachel Polansky, Tom Cunningham, Will Houle, Jack Estabrook
Special Program
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- First place: CNY Central, Black history month special, Barbara Barrino
- Second place: WSYR, Newsmakers, Andrew Donovan, Will Houle, Jeff Mercer
- Second place: Spectrum News 1, A look back at the Dannemora Prison break 10 years later, Brian Dwyer, Jeff Goldberg, Mike Kuehner, Rebecca Frazier, Andrew Henderson, Ray Sullivan
Sports Show
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- First place: CNY Central, The Orange Zone podcast, Samantha Croston, Ashley Wenskoski, Rachel Culver
Sportscast
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- First place: WSYR, Friday Night Fever Oct. 17, 2025, Steven Infanti, Mario Sacco, Maddie Mustion
- Second place: CNY Central, Fran Brown’s highlight reel, Ashley Wenskoski
Sports Story
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- First place: CNY Central, Lawrence Moten Tribute, Samantha Croston, Matthew Landers
- Second place: CNY Central, The only color we see is orange, Ashley Wenskoski
- Honorable mention: Spectrum News 1, Upstate N.Y. adaptive golfer representing Team USA at international competition, Noah Love
Spot News
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- First place: WWNY, On the line of illegal strikes, Lexi Bruening
- Second place: WSYR, Maria Regina Fire, NewsChannel 9 staff
- Honorable mention: CNY Central, NBC 3: Mid-State Officers indictment, Brandon Ladd, Matt Mulcahy
Photo Essay
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- First place: Spectrum News 1, Faces of the Fair: Showing horses at the fairgrounds, Krystal Cole
Broadcast Video Journalism
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- First place: Spectrum News 1, Krystal Cole
- Second place: Spectrum News 1, History of iconic dishes and food in New York, Shalon Stevens and Mike Kuehner
News Feature Short Form (less than 2:30)
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- First place: CNY Central, Mother shares heartbreak after husband taken, Mary Kielar
- Second place: CNY Central, Alex and Yan’s story, Mary Kielar
- Honorable mention: Spectrum News 1, Parent starts adaptive cornhole league, Shalon Stevens
- Honorable mention: CNY Central, Sisters reflect on demolition of Maria Regina, Gary Robinson Jr.
News Feature Long Form (2:30+)
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- First place: WSYR, SNUG workers caught on camera, Rachel Polansky, Tom Cunningham, Will Houle and Jack Estabrook
- Second place: CNY Central, 3rd graders march to city hall, Megan Coleman
- Honorable mention: Spectrum News 1, ‘I’m sad and alone’: Man detained in Cato ICE raid wrongfully deported and now separated from his family, Natalie Mooney and Emily Kenny
Best Weathercast
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- First place: CNY Central, Meteorologist Mike Brookins 12/30/25, Mike Brookins
Human Interest Feature or Series
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- First place: WSYR, Mac the Wallaby, Kendra Broddus and Will Houle
- Second place: CNY Central, BHM: Clothing designer, Michael Benny and Barbara Barrino
- Honorable mention: CNY Central, Painting of the Boeheim mural, Samantha Croston, Matthew Landers
- Honorable mention: WSYR, Remarkable woman Nancy Chappel, Christie Casciano and Jack Estabrook
- Honorable mention: Spectrum News 1, Cortland adopts songwriter’s tribute to his hometown, Krystal Cole
Best Local Newscast
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- First place: WWNY, 7NEWS THIS EVENING with Jeff Cole Feb. 19, Jeff Cole, Erin Bischoff and 7NEWS Team
- Second place: WWNY, 7NEWS THIS EVENING with Jeff Cole Feb. 17, Jeff Cole, Erin Bischoff and 7NEWS Team
- Honorable mention: Spectrum News 1, Spectrum News 1’s newscast from Feb. 13, 2025, Nicholas Endres, Michelle Houston, Kelly Law, Lacey Leonardi, Krystal Cole, Rebecca Frazier, Mike Kuehner, Jack Durkin, Kristy Kasper and Dominic LoVallo