COLUMBUS — The Times Leader was honored on Aug. 3 during the annual Associated Press Media Editors meeting and awards banquet for its work on a graphic that helped anchor a series of articles published in March 2024.

Designer Joseph Hauger earned a first place award for the graphic “Time Takes A Toll” that helped readers identify weekly installments of a series about the long-closed Bellaire Toll Bridge that spans the Ohio River between Bellaire and Benwood. Hauger used a photo of the bridge by Managing Editor Jennifer Compston-Strough to create the graphic that illustrated articles that she and staff writer Emma Delk researched and wrote. The series was published over five consecutive weeks.

“Joe always comes through with clean, creative page designs and has great ideas for making individual pieces stand out visually,” Compston-Strough said, “It is always a pleasure to work with him, and I am always confident that his designs will capture readers’ interest.”

Hauger was the top finisher among three finalists in the “Best Design Element” category.

“The well-designed graphic shows off its versatility as it is able to be moved around the

front pages depending on that day’s design,” the contest judges noted.

Second and third place honors in the Best Print Design Element category went to The Marietta Times and The Athens Messenger, respectively.The Times Leader competes in Division I, which includes publications with newsrooms of nine or fewer employees. The top three finishers in each category were announced earlier this year, with the order of placement revealed during the luncheon held at the Villa Milano Banquet and Conference Center in Columbus.

Four journalists were inducted into the OAPME Hall of Fame during the event. Earning those honors were Colleen Marshall and Ben Gelber, both of WCMH-TV in Columbus; Rob Powers of WEWS-TV in Cleveland; and Paul Kwapich of WTOL-TV in Toledo.

Recipients of the Rising Star awards were Erin Glynn of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Claire Mitchell of WTVG-TV in Toledo. The Akron Beacon Journal won the First Amendment Award.