Janney earns two firsts, second in Journalist of the Year category
Hays Post
The staff of Hays Post and Eagle Radio of Hays collectively earned 13 awards in the 2023 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence contest.
Cristina Janney earned first-place nods in the investigative story category for her tireless work following the Plainville Livestock saga over the past several years. She also placed first in the agricultural story category for a follow-up story from the December 2021 Four County Fire about the financial effects of the disaster on farmers and ranchers.
As a group, the Eagle Media Center placed second in the community service project category for the "What Were You Wearing" project in conjunction with Options Domestic & Sexual Violence Services.
Janney placed second in the KPA Journalist of the Year category.
James Bell placed second in the best story-picture combination category for the story "American Music in a Box: Royce's CBG." Bell also placed third in the same category.
Eagle's Jordan Schaeffer earned five awards for advertising design, including third in the best overall graphic designer category. He also earned a second place in both the static and motion ad categories and third-place finishes in the motion ad and best series or campaign category. Schaeffer and marketing consultant Katie Dorzweiler collaborated on the campaign for Imagine Ellis County.
Longtime Hays Daily News and Fort Hays State University scribe Diane Gasper-O'Brien placed third in the senior story category for her Hays Post NWester, "A Chapel of Love."'
Ron Fields, Eagle news director, was given a second-place award for best story originating from a public notice.
Hays Post, one of a handful of digital-only KPA members, competes against the largest publications in the state of Kansas, including the Wichita Eagle, Kansas City Star, the Kansas Reflector and Topeka Capital Journal.