Butler Eagle staff bring home Professional Keystone Media awards
On top of a dozen previously announced awards, Butler Eagle staff brought home two additional awards — reader initiative and public service — from the Professional Keystone Media awards.
The awards were presented at a luncheon in Harrisburg on Thursday, Oct. 16. The Butler Eagle was previously announced to be the recipient of 11 awards, as well as the Sweepstakes award in its division by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
“The Sweepstakes award is given to the news organization with the most points for excellence in journalism garnered during Keystone Media Awards,” Donna Sybert, Eagle managing editor, said when the award was announced.
For most awards, the Butler Eagle was recognized as an award winner in Division II, which includes multiday publications with a circulation of 10,000-24,999. The reader initiative and public service awards are considered specialty awards and did not fall into divisional categories.
The reader initiative award was received for Soar: Imagination Takes Flight, a weekly 8-page publication geared toward elementary school students. It highlights the stories of students and teachers, features students’ art and writing, and gives readers a look inside classrooms at nine public school districts and several area private schools.
“Soar’s purpose was also to connect students to their peers by sharing answers to a big question and connecting teachers through a rotating featured column,” Sybert said in her speech at the luncheon. “Today, it continues to get an actual print project into the hands of 2,000 students each week. The list of participating schools continues to grow.”
The public service award was received for the Butler Eagle’s hosting of the Jay Bee Circus, a hand-carved miniature exhibit created by late Butler artist Jimmy Bashline. Preparation and restoration efforts began in 2023 and the exhibit opened in March 2024.
For the 11 Division II awards, three involved coverage of the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination attempt of then-candidate President Donald Trump.
The Butler Eagle tied for first place in investigative reporting for “Secret Service flaws enabled Trump assassination attempt,” which was written through a collaboration including Spotlight PA, ProPublica, former staff writer Irina Bucur, assignment editor Tracy Leturgey and community editor Eddie Trizzino.
The Butler Eagle also took first place in breaking news for a staff report entitled “Trump rally shooting in Butler County: Attendees ‘at a loss’ after assassination attempt.”
Copy desk chief Joe Genco won first place for his news page design on the assassination attempt, “Trump shot: Shooting creates chaotic scene at Butler Farm Show grounds.”
“I think all the members of the newsroom team understood the gravity of the tragic shooting at the Trump rally and worked really diligently to make sure the July 15 edition of the Eagle reflected that,” he said.
Genco and Leturgey were also recognized for work beyond the assassination attempt.
Genco received an honorable mention in news page design for “Rain pounds county: Flooding leads to rescues, closures,” and Leturgey received an honorable mention for her column, entitled “The Sunday Wrapup: Editor’s take on a week’s worth of local news.”
Laura Crago, host of the Butler Eagle’s Alter Eagle podcast, won two awards. She placed first for “Motherhood: Joy, Grief, and Everything in Between” and second for “Beyond the Struggle: Changing the Conversation on Addiction.”
Former staff photographer Morgan Phillips won second place for both her breaking news photo, “Saving the dog: Fireman carries dog out of house fire,” and her photo essay, “Ready to grow: Thiele farm prepares for upcoming planting season.”
Sports editor Jake Merda Adams won second place in the sports enterprise for his article, “Why Butler County high school football teams are adopting Guardian Caps during practice.”
Finally, The Butler Eagle was recognized with first place in graphic and photo illustration for former staff writer Austin Uram’s “Cost of a DUI” graphic, which was part of the staff series Pathways to Recovery about those struggling with addiction in Butler County.
“This work wouldn’t have been possible without the team we have here in the newsroom. These awards are representative of the intense and intentional work done by past and present Eagle staff alike. I’m very proud of all the work we do day in and out,” Leturgey said.
According to its website, the awards aim to “reinforce excellence by individuals in the news media profession by recognizing journalism that consistently provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers and audiences and faithfully fulfills its First Amendment rights/responsibilities.”
“I am very proud of the efforts of the staff, from editors, writers, photographers, designers and podcast producer,” publisher Tammy Schuey said when the awards were announced. “It was a very challenging year, but they rose to the occasion to produce outstanding work. I am grateful for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association for recognizing their efforts and awarding them this prestigious honor.”
