Columbus Monthly / October 2011 / A few awards

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A few awards

The reluctant reporter

As we were talking over ideas for our cover package on the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, we wanted to focus on things at the city’s favorite attractions that most people know little about. 

Since everybody knows everything regarding Jack Hanna, that would mean he’d have no place in the story. But how can you write about the zoo without mentioning the guy who’s one of the biggest reasons it was voted the best of its kind in the country?

So, even though it didn’t fit with our story format, we included Hanna just because. That assignment fell to associate editor Dave Ghose, who interviewed Hanna at the zoo. Of course, seemingly all media interactions include an animal. In this case, Hanna had a cheetah named Edward brought in.

Dave says he had no interest in getting near the cheetah, particularly after Hanna complained about how it was staring at him. But Jungle Jack insisted that Dave come close, even coaxing him to pet it. Then, Hanna stepped away, leaving the reluctant reporter on his own with Edward. Dave didn’t exactly appreciate the chance to be alone with a beast that conquers its prey by knocking it down and biting its throat. “I was trying not to make eye contact with it,” he says.

Please allow us to take a humble bow. Columbus Monthly won eight awards in the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists competition for work published in 2010. It competed against daily newspapers and other periodicals in the state with a circulation of less than 100,000. The winners:

Best Criminal Justice Reporting

First: “Person of the Year” (January), associate editor Dave Ghose

Best Sports Profile

First: “The education of Jim Tressel” (November), Dave Ghose

Best Newsmaker Profile

First: “On the go with Gee” (April), editor Ray Paprocki

Best Reporter in Ohio

Second: Body of work, Dave Ghose

Best Explanatory Journalism

Second: “Power” (June), Ray Paprocki

Best Medical/Science Reporting

Second: “A cut above” (December), freelancer Michele Lemmon

Best Social Justice Reporting

Second: “Falling through the cracks” (February), freelancer Jo Ingles

Best Monthly in Ohio

Second: Columbus Monthly staff

Like any good politician, I’m going to ask for your vote. That is, go to columbusmonthly.com to participate in a survey about Columbus icons, both people and places/things. There are plenty of choices (Woody Hayes and Jack Hanna, the Statehouse and the Wexner Center for the Arts) and a spot to write in a favorite if it’s not listed.

You’ll find the results in a special publication Columbus Monthly is co-producing with Columbus C.E.O. to acknowledge a big deal in the course of the city’s development. As you may have heard, Columbus is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2012. So the staffs of both magazines are working on a project that will reflect on the past, present and potential of the city. It will accompany
the January issue of both magazines.