GPC earns 31 state awards

INDIANAPOLIS — For the second year in a row, The Graphic Printing Company earned more than 30 awards in the state journalism contest.

Awards were presented Friday during the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation Journalism Conference and Awards Luncheon on Friday at Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport, with The Graphic Printing Company earning 31. That total included 13 for its flagship publication, The Commercial Review, and nine first-place honors.

The CR has earned at least five awards in the Hoosier State Press Association contest every year since 2011.

It picked up another 13 awards for The News-Gazette (Winchester) and five for The News Times (Hartford City), both in Division I (non-dailies with a circulation of 1,500 or fewer).

The awards for The CR came in Division III, which is for daily newspapers with a circulation of 6,000 or fewer. The contest period covered April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025.

In its first two full years of ownership of the three papers — the company bought The News-Gazette and The News Times in May 2023 — it has earned a total of 67 awards from the state press association.

Sports reporter Andrew Balko earned the lone first-place award for The Commercial Review for sports event coverage — one of his seven awards on the day. His win came for his story about the Jay County High School boys’ soccer team’s 3-2 win over Eastbrook in penalty kicks for the 2024 sectional championship.

Balko also picked up a third-place award for sports feature photo.

President, editor and publisher Ray Cooney earned six awards for The CR as part of his total of 13 across all three publications. He took second place for editorial writer and general news photo and third for sports event coverage, headline writing, general news photo and sports action photo.

Reporter Bailey Cline earned three of her four awards in photography categories for The Commercial Review, taking second place for best feature photo and second and third places for portrait.

Columnist Olivia Smith received the first award of her career, taking third for general commentary.

The Commercial Review’s staff also earned third place for its website.

The News-Gazette had a big day with six first-place awards. Cooney picked up three of those wins — news coverage under deadline pressure for his story about the memorial service honoring fallen Winchester firefighter Rick Sanders, sports event coverage for his story about the Wapahani High School 4x800-meter relay team’s regional championship and general news photo for his photo of firefighters battling a fire in northern Randolph County.

Scott Shaffer claimed first place for portrait for his photo of Kaylee Thompson with Santa Claus at Northblock Coffee in Winchester, and Hank Nuwer won for general commentary for his Far From Randolph County column. The newspaper also took the top spot for best website.

The News Times also picked up a couple of first-place honors. Wins came from Balko in multiple picture group for his photos from the Blackford County Fair and Cooney in sports action photo for his shot of Delta receiver Cooper Bratton making a one-handed catch during the Eagles’ 2024 sectional semifinal loss to Mississinewa.

The Graphic Printing Company swept a couple of categories in Division I. Cooney (second for The News-Gazette) and Cline (third for The News-Gazette) joined first-place Balko in the multiple picture group category. Balko picked up second place for The News-Gazette and third for The News Times for sports event coverage behind Cooney’s win.

Other Division I awards for The Graphic Printing Company were as follows:

The News-Gazette

Second — Cooney for short feature story, and Balko for feature photo

Third — Balko for sports feature photo and retired sports editor Rick Reed for sports feature coverage

The News Times

Second — Cooney for general news photo and the staff for website