This won’t come as a shock to anyone but Ali Ghanbari from WJW-TV in Cleveland is the 2018 ONPA Television Photographer of the Year. This is the 12th time Ghanbari has won the title. 

https://youtu.be/3zhXP8B7Ctk
Best of Show – Ali Ghanbari / WJW-TV – “Signs of the Fallen”

And just like last year Ghanbari won first place in five of the six contest categories and also won Best of Show for his first place In-Depth story, “Signs of the Fallen”.

Also like last year, photographers from WJW amassed the most points in the POY competition, but it was WBNS-TV in Columbus that won the Station of the Year title.

Scott Doelling from WBNS in Columbus placed second in the POY competition.  Doelling has placed in the top three in the past four years, winning the title in 2015. Chris Reece from WJW placed third in this year’s competition.

2018 ONPA Television year-end contest results

Television Photographer of the Year
1st – Ali Ghanbari, WJW-TV, Cleveland
2nd – Scott Doelling, WBNS-TV, Columbus
3rd – Chris Reese, WJW-TV, Cleveland
4th – Robert Busby,WLWT-TV, Cincinnati

Station of the Year
1st – WBNS-TV, Columbus – video 
2nd – WJW-TV, Cleveland  – video

Best of Show
Ali Ghanbari  WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Signs of the Fallen”

Spot News
1st – Cy Boord, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Kent State Gun Rally”
2nd – Ali Ghanbari  WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Amish Ax”
3rd – Robert Busby, WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, “When Everything Goes Wrong”
HM – Scott Doeling, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “I Just Want In My House”

General News
1st – Ali Ghanbari, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Ice Raid”
2nd – Chris Reece, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Tunnel Vision”
3rd – William Wolkoff, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Memorial Bench Stolen From Norwalk Park”
HM – Nabiel Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Mail Santa”

Sports Feature
1st – Ali Ghanbari  WJW-TV, Cleveland, “No Excuses Zion Story”
2nd – Kris Sproles, Wright State University, “Women’s Bowling Team Hitting Their Mark”
3rd – Scott Doeling, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Boomerang Champ”
HM – Nabiel Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Hamilton Workout”

48 Hour News Feature
1st – Ali Ghanbari  WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Mural Wall”
2nd – Nabiel Muhammed, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “How To Save a Life CPR”
3rd – Scott Doelling, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Otterbein Veterans”
HM – Chris Reece, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Lunch With Law Enforcement”

In Depth Series
1st – Ali Ghanbari  WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Signs of the Fallen”
2nd – Scott Doelling, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Keziah’s Quest”
3rd – Chris Reece, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Honor Flight”
HM – Robert Busby, WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, “Last Chance High School”

Personality Profile
1st – Ali Ghanbari  WJW-TV, Cleveland, “Oh, Say Can You See”
2nd – Scott Doelling, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “My Best Customer”
3rd – Kris Sproles, Wright State University, “Riveting Affair”
HM – Chris Reece, WJW-TV, Cleveland, “DJ John”

Entries were judged by WTVF in Nashville, TN