Western Wayne News reporting and photography was recognized at the Best in Indiana Journalism awards ceremony on Friday, May 2.
WWN photographer Joshua Smith received awards for his news and features photography appearing in various issues of the Western Wayne News throughout 2024.
WWN reporters Mike Emery, Millicent Martin Emery, Chris Hardie, Dan Harney and Jenny Pugh received a first-place award for their breaking news reporting about the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. The team’s coverage included stories, photos and reports from the field as the cosmic spectacle unfolded, shared online and in our print edition.
The honors were given by the Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, which promotes the development of current and future journalists by offering training and networking opportunities as well as college journalism scholarships. The judging and ceremony recognized works of journalism from 2024 across a broad range of categories and formats. Each WWN award considered submissions from news publications across Indiana with a circulation below 10,000.
Updated May 5 at 4:18 p.m. to reflect that Dan Harney’s writing and photography was a part of the winning submission for breaking news reporting about the 2024 eclipse.
A version of this article will appear in the May 7 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.