Staff report

Reporter David Skolnick, who covers politics for The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, won first place in the Best Government/Political Reporting category in the 2026 Ohio Society of Professional Journalists contest.

The award is just the latest for Skolnick, a veteran reporter with more than 30 years of experience in the Mahoning Valley. He routinely won Ohio journalism awards when the annual contest was administered by the Associated Press Manager Editors organization.

The Ohio SPJ took over the contest for newspapers, magazines, trade publications, independent digital platforms and radio and television stations.

“You are a watchdog for our community,” judges wrote in praising Skolnick’s work, which also includes coverage of the city of Youngstown. “Good reporting from the absurdity of a driverless bus not being used to the taxpayers picking up overtime expenses for law enforcement. You write with authority and find interesting investigative stories to cover. Keep digging and holding the government accountable.”

Staff members Rick Logan and Ed Puskas also earned honors in this year’s OSPJ contest, which covers work during the 2025 calendar year.

Puskas, the editor of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator and Logan, a copy editor, page designer and editorial writer, shared second place in the Best Editorial/Criticism Writing category.

The Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator both were part of the OSPJ’s under-40,000 circulation division for print journalism.