Kris Sproles from WSU-TV at Wright State University in Dayton is the 2019 ONPA Television Photographer of the Year. This is Sproles’ second POY title, winning previously for his work in 2016 while working at WDTN-TV in Dayton.
Eric Rerucha from WTOL-TV in Toledo placed second in the contest. For the second year in a row Chris Reece from WJW-TV in Cleveland placed third and Bill Muhammed from WJW placed fourth.
The Station of the Year award went to WJW with WTOL placing second.
2019 ONPA Television year-end contest results
Best of Show – Kris Sproles / WSU-TV – “Ring Leader”
Television Photographer of the Year
1st – Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton – 35 points
2nd – Eric Rerucha, WTOL-TV, Toledo – 29 points
3rd – Chris Reese, WJW-TV, Cleveland – 27 points
4th – Bill Muhammed – WJW-TV, Cleveland – 25 points
Station of the Year
1st – WJW-TV, Cleveland
2nd – WTOL-TV, Toledo
Best of Show
Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton, “Ring Leader”
48-hour News Feature
1st – Eric Rerucha, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Tin Goose”
2nd – Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton, “Market Force”
3rd – Billy Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Box House”
Award of Excellence – Joe Comer, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Haunted Hydro- A Real Life Horror Love Story”
General News
1st – Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton, “Fresh Food”
2nd – Billy Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “GradyStrong”
3rd – Scott Doelling, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Bike Camp”
Award of Excellence – Eric Rerucha, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Community Help”
Spot News
1st – Chris Reese WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Heart of Grafton”
2nd – Billy Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “I-90 ICE”
3rd – William Wolkoff, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Chippewa Lake Flooding”
Award of Excellence – Joe Comer, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Dayton Mass Shooting”
Sport Feature
1st – Eric Rerucha, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Born Addicted: Jonah’s Story”
2nd – Chris Reese WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Underground Wrestling”
3rd – Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton, “Base Bandit”
Award of Excellence – Billy Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Junior PGA”
Personality Profile
1st – Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton, “Ring Leader”
2nd – Nicki Thacker, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Podium Prankster”
3rd – Eric Rerucha, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Final Cleaning”
Award of Excellence – Billy Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “And its Good”
In–Depth
1st – Kris Sproles, WSU-TV, Dayton, “Smashing Pumpkins”
2nd – Chris Reese WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Separated”
3rd – Joe Comer, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Detroit Homeless Musician Pocket Full of Hope”
Award of Excellence – Nicki Thacker, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “The House Ohio Built”
Contest entries were judged by KCPQ-TV in Seattle, WA