Dispatch
writers capture press awards
By Joyce M. Demmitt
Managing Editor
ANNAPOLIS,
Md. – Members of The Dispatch staff and two contributing
writers were honored at the MDDC (Maryland-Delaware-District
of Columbia) Press Association awards ceremony held in Annapolis
on April 28.
The
Dispatch entered articles in the editorial competition
for the first time this year, competing in Division F, non-dailies
under 10,000 circulation. With approximately 53 newspapers
in that division, The Emmitsburg Dispatch ranked
in the top half of small, non-dailies.
In the
Continuing Coverage category, Emmitsburg News Editor Rick
Fulton, along with contributing writer Chris Patterson, captured
first place honors for the “Emmitsburg Ethics Investigation,”
which began in 2004 and continued in 2005. The judges summed
up the work by saying, “This series stood out for the
exhaustive research and legwork that was required to pull
it together.”
Walking
away with first place Local Column honors was Bill Meredith,
for one of his Retired Ecologist columns, “A Parliament
of Owls,” which ran in the March 10, 2005 issue of The
Dispatch. The judges’ comments captured our motivation
in submitting Bill’s column: “This is brilliant.
Really exhilarating reading. I learned something while being
entertained.”
Thurmont
Dispatch News Editor Jim Rada won awards for his work
while at The Frederick News-Post, including second place for
Investigative Reporting along with Erin Cunningham for their
story, “Is the Frederick Municipal Airport out of Control?”
Rada and Kelly Ann Hinchcliffe won second place for Public
Service Reporting for their coverage of the need for crossing
guards at county schools. He also contributed significantly
to staff awards for Spot News and James S. Keats Freedom of
Information Award.
MDDC
is a 164-member press association, founded in 1908, which
includes newspapers in Maryland, Delaware, the Eastern Shore
of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Membership includes
all the dailies and the great majority of the non-dailies
in these jurisdictions. The association’s purpose is
“to bring together newspapers for the preservation and
defense of the principles of the First Amendment to the Constitution,
to promote the growth and development of the newspaper industry,
and to foster fellowship among newspaper people within the
area served by the Association.”
