Courier Times staffer named Journalist of the Year in Pennsylvania

Posted: Saturday, May 18, 2013

Courier Times Staff Writer Jo Ciavaglia on Saturday won the coveted Journalist of the Year award from the Pennsylvania Women's Press Association.

The award and $250 was presented to Ciavaglia at the PWPA's luncheon awards ceremony at the Hilton Harrisburg. Her selection was based on the number of awards she collected this year in the annual PWPA contest.

The competition is especially significant since journalists complete with their peers in all newspaper circulation categories. Ciavaglia was up against writers employed by the largest metropolitan papers in the state including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Associate Editor Jackie Massott, who is Ciavaglia’s supervising editor, complimented Jo’s hard work as a breaking news reporter for Calkins Media.

“Jo is dedicated to getting to information that affects the everyday lives of our readers,” Massott said. “She is tenacious in her pursuit of a story, yet caring enough to get people to open up. Although she gets a thrill being the first to alert readers to breaking news, her goal is to inform with accuracy. She truly deserves to carry the title of state reporter of the year. We are proud of her.”

Ciavaglia earned five writing awards from PWPA in addition to the Journalist of the Year honor:

First Place, Outdoors/Environmental Coverage: “Fracking Law: Gag or Guarantee?”

First Place, Health and Medical reporting:"Doctors can put brakes on driver's licenses"

Second Place, Religion: “It’s the end of the world — but not as the Maya know it”

Second Place, Enterprise/Investigative: “Child Abuse Law is Painfully Lacking”

Honorable Mention, General News Story: “Suspended but still driving.”

This year, PWPA had more than 230 entries from more than 50 journalists from across the state.

Jo Ciavaglia