Thompson, Walker, Harrison earn first place nods

COLUMBUS — The Ironton Tribune was the recipient of nine awards when final results were announced at the Associated Press Media Editors Awards luncheon on Sunday.

Winning three awards each were longtime Tribune sports editor Jim Walker and Kandi Thompson, the paper’s former creative director who continues to work as a freelance contributor to the paper and magazines.

Walker won first place for Best Daily Sports Section, while coming in second for Best Special Sports Section (for the annual Pigskin Preview) and third for Best Sports Writer.

Thompson, as has been the case for many years, won first place for Best Graphics Artist, while also scoring first and second place wins Best Illustration or Informational Graphic. 

Tribune community editor Heath Harrison repeated his first place win from the last two years for Best Editorial Writer, while also scoring a second place win for Best Headline Writer.

The paper also earned a second place win for Best Enterprise Reporting, awarded to Gordon Hall for his four-part series on the history of WIRO Radio, which was published throughout October.

The Tribune competes in Division I of the awards, which is the largest category, comprised of dozens of newspapers of similar circulation size.