PBA Media Awards to Be Presented Virtually at Committee/Section Day Awards Presentation

HARRISBURG (Nov. 13, 2020) — Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) 2020 PBA Media Awards will be presented at an awards presentation virtually on Nov. 19 during Committee/Section Day.

Established 41 years ago, the PBA Media Awards Competition recognizes journalistic excellence in news and feature reporting in print and now broadcast and podcast media about the legal system and its operations. The award categories were revised and expanded this year to include television, radio and podcast entries.

The 2020 competition is funded by the law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP and is coordinated by the PBA Bar/Press Committee. Entries are judged by lawyers, journalists and college professors.

Here is a list of the winners:

Newspapers: 30,000 or More Circulation

• 1^st place: Junior Gonzalez, LNP/Lancaster Online, “The Saga of Former Funeral Director Andrew T. Scheid”

• 2^nd place: Philip Gruber, Lancaster Farming, “Legal Loose End for Hemp Sales”

Newspapers: Under 30,000 Circulation

• 1^st place: Max Mitchell, The Legal Intelligencer, “The Dangers and Rewards of Pursuing Sex Trafficking Litigation”

• 2^nd place: Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times, “Gloria Would Not Have Been Dead Today"

Editorial/Commentary

• 1^st place: Lori Falce, Trib Total Media, “Is Marsy's Law Necessary; Sextortion; Tranquilli and the Scales of Justice”

TV: All Other Pa. Markets (not including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh)

• 1^st place: PCN, “PCN’s Judicial Election Coverage Call-in Program 2019”

Radio and Podcasts: All Pa. Markets

• 1^st place: Ed Mahon, WITF, “Some Republicans, Business Challenging Gov. Tom Wolf's Business Closures”

First-place winners receive $400 and a plaque and second-place winners receive $100 and a certificate.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access of legal services; and serve the lawyer members of the state’s largest organized bar association.