The Syracuse Press Club is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 A. Brohmann Roth Newcomer Award, based on stellar work by a young reporter or reporters in 2021.
Congratulations to Ben T. Grieco of Oswego County Media Group and Conor Wight of CNY Central, who were selected from a group of talented new journalists in Central New York.
Ben Grieco is the new editor of the The Palladium-Times, formerly the paper’s sports editor and also previously a sports intern. Ben graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2021, where he served as the editor-in-chief of The Oswegonian student newspaper, and worked as co-director of the 2019 Lewis B. O’Donnell media summit.
Ben’s former colleague Nicole Hube said, “Ben works very hard to bring Oswego the best in hyperlocal coverage, and despite the fact that I’m now in a different position – he certainly deserves to be recognized. I also worked under him at the Oswegonian, and his leadership and copy editing skills have always been top-notch.”
Conor Wight joined the CNY Central team in 2020. Conor graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. There, Conor worked as an anchor, producer and on-air reporter at the student-run news station CitrusTV, where he fell in love with journalism.
CNYCentral assistant news director Jana Barnello said: “Conor is the best young journalist I have ever worked with. He’s a star in the making. Conor is smart, level-headed and approaches work each day with a wonderful sense of humor. As a journalist, Conor is tenacious, yet thoughtful and compassionate.”
Congratulations to Ben and Conor! We look forward to presenting you both with the Newcomer Award at the SPC Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
SPC’s annual Newcomer Award is presented to promising young individuals who are just beginning their careers in journalism. The award recognizes raw talent and high potential, and many of our Newcomers have gone on to have long, successful careers in journalism and media. Candidates must be in their first three years of employment.
• Our 2021 Newcomer of the Year was Ricky Sayer, formerly of CitrusTV, now a broadcast reporter at LEX 18 News in Kentucky.
• Our 2020 Newcomer of the Year was Mike Curtis, a sports reporter at Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. See more past winners.