The Martys – Contest Info & Winners 2011-present
A contest for Central Ohio’s high school journalists
The Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists and Dispatch Media Group are proud to present The Martys, an editorial contest for Central Ohio’s high school journalists.
Winners in the contest’s five categories earn cash prizes,funded in 2017 by Central Ohio SPJ, and are published on the sponsors’ websites. The overall top winner wins an additional award, The Marty and is honored by Central Ohio SPJ members at their annual Founders’ Day spring banquet.
About Marty
The contest, established in 2011, honors the late Martin L. Rozenman. Marty worked for 27 years at Suburban News Publications – merged in 2012 with ThisWeek News – the last 20 as Editor; and at The Columbus Dispatch from 2004 until succumbing to a blood disorder in 2010. Marty also was a longtime sports columnist for The Other Paper and a nine-year member of the Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists board of directors.
Mentoring high school and college student journalists and reaching out to young people to encourage interest in the profession was a hallmark of Marty’s tenure at SNP – as was mentoring the waves of young college graduates he hired into their first professional jobs.
Categories
Six awards are presented. A winner and runner-up is chosen in these five categories:
1. Best News Writing
2. Best Feature Writing
3. Best Sports Writing
4. Best Opinion Writing
5. Best Photography
All winners and runners-up received framed awards. Each category winner also is awarded $100 and has his or her work published on ThisWeekNEWS.com, the website for DMG’s ThisWeek Community News group of weekly community newspapers in Central Ohio. An article about the winners with their photos also will appear in local ThisWeek print editions.
From the five category winners, a single overall winner of The Marty is chosen. This student receives a plaque and is honored at the spring Founders’ Day banquet of the Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists.
Contest rules:
- Entries should be from the current school year, published prior to Feb. 28.
- Entries are limited to two students per high school, per category.
- Entries must be postmarked on or before March 4.
- Entrants should attach a copy of the entry sheet to their entry.
Winners will be contacted in April. Copies of winning entries in PDF form will be requested.
Questions can be addressed to contest coordinator Julanne Hohbach at [email protected].
WINNERS of THE MARTY
2022 – Diya Raj of Dublin Coffman High School, Best Feature Writing category winner for “Finding the Light.”
2021 – Alex Imwalle of Bexley High School
2020 – No ceremony due to Covid-19
2019 – SeRaye Bray from Dublin Coffman High School, Best Feature Writing category winner for story “Being a Minority in the Majority.”
2018 – Dylan Carlson Sirvent and Sophie Yang of Upper Arlington High School, for their Best Feature Writing category-winning article, “Stressed for Success.” ThisWeek article on all the 2018 winners and their contest entries
2017 – Clare Proctor of Dublin Coffman High School for her Best Feature Writing category winner “After the Attack,” a story about a student whose family survived an attack in Iraq in 2005 and moved to the United States. ThisWeek article on all the 2017 winners
2016 – Aaron Rothchild and Grace Maley of Bexley High School, for their Best Feature Writing category winner published in The Torch student newspaper, “Living Their Truths.” ThisWeek article on all the 2016 winners
2015 – Miriam Alghothani and Becina Ganther of Upper Arlington High School, for their co-written “Brain Game” story on student athlete concussions. ThisWeek article on all the 2015 winners
2014 – Lily Wiest of Delaware Hayes High School, for her news story, “Beehive buzzes no more,” that examined the closing of a local bookstore and how locally owned versus chain-owned stores are faring in downtown Delaware. ThisWeek article on all the 2014 winners
2013 – Matias Grotewold, Patty Huntley and Cassie Lowery of Upper Arlington High School, for their story, “Pills for Perfection.” Display of all 2013’s winning student entries; ThisWeek story on the 2013 winners
2012 – Cassie Lowery and Olivia Miltner, Upper Arlington High School. Article on all the 2012 winners
2011 – Sophie Shemas, Dublin Coffman High School. Columbus Monthly article on all the 2011 winners
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