The Western Wayne News team was recognized for excellence in reporting and online publishing at a recent industry awards event.
The Hoosier State Press Association’s 2023 Journalism Conference and Awards Luncheon on Oct. 6 lauded Dan Harney’s work reporting on the Hagerstown Little League World Series 2022 journey with a first place award for Best Sports Event Coverage in the paper’s size category. WWN Photographer Rachel Moore received a second place award for Best Sports Feature Photo for her related image of Hagerstown’s Preston Allred, celebrating after scoring the walk-off run against Team Midwest during that same series.
Both Harney and Moore won similar awards in April from the Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The newspaper’s WesternWayneNews.com website also received a first place award for Best Website in the paper’s size category.
“It’s a delight to have our team’s hard work recognized at the state level,” said Chris Hardie, publisher and owner of the Western Wayne News. “We may be a small community paper, but we aim for a level of excellence that stands out among our peers in the region, and these awards reflect that.”
The Western Wayne News was founded in 1991 by Janis Buhl-Macy and later expanded under the ownership of Janis’s daughter, Brenda McLane, and her husband Jim McLane. In October 2022, Hardie took over ownership of the paper with plans to continue growing its coverage and service to the community. The Western Wayne News reaches many thousands of readers every week in print and online.
A version of this article appeared in the October 11 2023 print edition of the Western Wayne News.