The winners of the 90th National Headliner Awards have been announced and Advance Local took home a dozen first, second and third-place honors!
The annual contest honors the best print, radio, television and online journalism in the United States published during 2023.
Founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, the National Headliner Awards program is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic merit in the communications industry.
Advance Local recognition this year includes first place wins for Terry Pluto, Cleveland.com for sports features and The Oregonian | OregonLive team for spot photography, along with a sweep of the New Videos under 3 minutes category from the OregonLive video team.
Here’s the full list of Advance Local winners and details:
Newspapers sports feature writing by an individual or team
First Place
Terry Pluto
Cleveland.com-The Plain Dealer
Judges’ comments: Sports writers become more than the voice of their city’s fans — they become the heart of the fans, the conscience of the fans and the memory of the fans. Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer fulfills that mission. His columns on LPGA pioneer Renee Powell entering the Golf Hall of Fame, former Browns QB Bernie Kosar’s struggles with CTE, and the early life of Lebron James show how sports writing at its best is about character, empathy and community.
Third Place
Kevin Armstrong
The Star-Ledger
Spot news photography
First Place and BEST IN SHOW
“A Single Shot”
Sam Gomez
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Judges’ comments: Out of town visitor to Portland, Oregon, Samuel Gomez takes a stroll downtown which becomes a nightmare as he witnesses the fatal shooting of a road rage victim, and as Gomez raises his smartphone to record the scene, he is shot (in the leg) by the gunman who then pulls away from the scene in his car. The shooter is apprehended and Gomez survived the gunshot. The Oregonian published the picture showing the gunman and his fallen victim as the gunman takes aim – and fires – at Gomez.
Single day photo story
Second Place
“The Nutcracker”
Beth Nakamura
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Newspapers environmental writing by an individual or team in top 20 media market
Second Place
“How to Frack a State Park”
Jake Zuckerman
Cleveland.com-The Plain Dealer
Newspapers sports news writing by an individual or team
Third Place
“Beach Volleyball”
James Crepea
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Newspapers public service in top 20 media market
Third Place
“Children Housed at DCFS Office”
Kaitlin Durbin
Cleveland.com-The Plain Dealer
Newspapers public service not in top 20 media market
Third Place
“Bias Crimes”
Aimee Green
The Oregonian/OregonLive
News video up to three minutes
First place
“Cranberry Harvest”
Samantha Swindler
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Judges’ comments: The cranberry harvest, from field to market, told in under 3 minutes. Good variety in the cranberry visuals, from wide angles to tight details. Clean, crisp, educational.
Second place
“Wool Farm”
Vickie Connor
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Third place
“Cowboy Dinner Tree”
Samantha Swindler
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Digital presentation of a single news topic
Third Place
“The Forgotten Four”
Fedor Zarkhin, Mark Friesen and Beth Nakamura
The Oregonian/OregonLive