Champion Media Wins 19 State Awards, Honoring Southern Ohio Journalism Excellence

Champion Media claimed 19 awards at the Ohio News Media Association's Osman C. Hooper Awards, the statewide competition recognizing excellence among Ohio's non-daily and community newspapers, with its People's Defender taking first place in Best Sports Coverage and sister publication The Clermont Sun earning Runner-Up Newspaper of the Year honors.

The southern Ohio newspaper group, which also includes The News Democrat, swept categories spanning editorial, photography and design, demonstrating both breadth and depth across Champion Media's newsrooms. The Clermont Sun added multiple first-place finishes in news, feature and sports coverage on top of its runner-up newspaper distinction.

For the People's Defender, the Best Sports Coverage award headlined a haul that also included a second-place finish in Best Sports Feature, plus additional design and advertising recognitions.

Publisher Karen Brown credited the staff directly. "The dedication our team shows to their craft is unmatched in today's news industry," she said, noting that the honors reflect both journalists' work and readers' trust.

The Hooper Awards recognize Ohio's non-daily and community newspaper sector, a corner of the industry that has absorbed significant losses over the past decade through consolidation, staff reductions and shrinking revenue. Against that backdrop, 19 awards across a single newspaper group is a notable counterpoint.

For a newsroom like the People's Defender, peer recognition at the state level carries practical weight beyond the ceremonial. Strong award credentials factor into foundation grant applications and conversations with local advertisers. They also help attract contributors to newsrooms that routinely compete for talent against larger metro outlets.

The full award list includes the individual journalists whose work was cited by the competition's judges.