OCN takes home statewide awards

 OCN is pleased to announce that our team earned three editorial awards at the statewide Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Competition.

OCN’s coverage in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian earned us first place in the Public Safety News category. Submissions also included Editor-in-chief Megan Stokes’ article about the Lake Harney folks who were stranded and Stokes and Managing Editor Isaac Babcock’s article about how each community fared after Ian hit. Of the work, the FPC judges wrote: “Very impactful and personal stories about a community dealing with disaster — and its resilience to overcome it. Kudos to the writers for doing excellent work in a challenging environment.” 

The newsroom also took home first place for writing in the Government News category, entering articles about Round Lake Park improvements by Eric Orvieto, a Winter Springs meeting concerning hurricane damage by Isaac and a preview article ahead of a county meeting concerning the Yarborough Ranch property that I wrote. The judges commented: “Excellent series of writing and reporting on important, but often under-covered community issues.”

OCN was awarded second place for Community News writing. The judges said: “A great example of community news. These aren’t stories that get picked up by larger news organizations. This is news and information that matters to a hyper-local audience. It’s well written and extremely accessible”. OCN submitted Eric’s “dad jokes” article about the Oviedo Police Departments’ often quippy roadway signs, his article about a police officer and K-9 retiring, and his article about the Historic Oviedo Colored Schools Museum opening. 

OCN’s mission is to create a better informed and connected community through independent, public-service journalism that focuses on issues that residents told us matter to them.