MoCo360 staff received six awards this week in the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association’s annual contest.
Daily and weekly newspapers and online news organizations in the region compete in several divisions in the MDDC contest. MoCo360 is in the online-only division.
The contest was for MDDC members’ work published in 2022. In each category, first and second prizes are awarded.
MoCo360 won two first-place awards and four second-place awards.
The winners are:
- Public Service: Former county government reporter Steve Bohnel and freelance writer Bethany Rodgers won first prize for their coverage of affordable housing needs and efforts in Montgomery County.
- State Government: Bohnel also won first prize for his story about ongoing debates on safety and bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road.
- Feature Story, Non-Profile: Former senior education reporter Caitlynn Peetz won second prize for her coverage of a family raising awareness about the death of their son to a fentanyl overdose.
- Wild Card, Local Election Coverage: Former managing editor Julie Rasicot, former web producer Erin Roby, and former intern Christine Zhu won second prize for the 2022 Primary Election Guide, one of MoCo360’s regular and most popular features.
- Religion Reporting: Education reporter Em Espey won second prize for their story about cross-country runners from Rockville’s Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School.
- Continuing Coverage: Executive editor Anne Tallent, lifestyles reporter Akira Kyles, politics and enterprise reporter Ginny Bixby, and Espey won second prize for their ongoing coverage of antisemitic incidents in Montgomery County.
More information about the MDDC awards can be found on their YouTube channel.