Multiple generations represented BGSU at the Press Club of Cleveland’s Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards event, and several Falcons left with an armful of awards.
Sports Production Director Tyler Kavalecz represented BG Falcon Media and collected seven awards for the organization including:
Four first places:
- Writing (General News): Blake Pierce (’24), Justice for Stone Foltz
- Writing (Sports): Ben Corak, Lucas Kleimeyer, Steve Iwanek (’24), Drake Harlett (’24), 1984 national hockey championship remembered
- Visuals (Graphics): Ben Corak, Nay Say (’25), How to be a Falcon hockey fan
- Visuals (Page Design): Vic Miller (’25), Emerald Shanefeldt (’25), Nay Say (’25), Lokkeberg and Zlinka
Two second places:
- Video (Sports): Lucas Kleimeyer, Raymond Cotis, Samuel Barrett (’25), Painting with BGSU men’s soccer’s Bennett Painter
- Visuals (Page Design): Nay Say (’25), Gardner Sisters
One third place:
- Visuals (Page Design): Vic Miller (’25), Emerald Shanefeldt (’25), Nay Say (’25), Who Will Be Champs?
A number of alumni took home awards in the professional categories.
Photojournalist Phil Masturzo (’86) took first-place in the personality portrait category, second place in sports photography and third place in general news photography. Phil was inducted into the BGSU Journalism Hall of Fame in 2023 and recently retired from the Akron Beacon-Journal after three decades. You can check out some of his favorite photos here.
Mike McIntyre (’87) won second place for his obituary on longtime Cleveland sportswriter Dan Coughlin and was part of a team that won third place for public service/public affairs. All together, his Ideastream team took home 40 awards.
The “Vanished” project by Max Filby (’13), Danae King (’14) and a fellow Columbus Dispatcher won another award, this time first place for Investigative Journalism.
Meanwhile, Duane Pohlman (’87) added more hardware to his already impressive display, including first places for:
- Best News Reporter (Video)
- In-depth report or series for Fallout, which examines the impact of radioactive waste
- Health & medical for Battling Deadly Brain Damage
- Human Interest for The Save
Duane was inducted into the BGSU Journalism Hall of Fame in 2024.
Did we miss anyone?