The Bucks County Courier Times was honored last week as the 2026 Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Sweepstakes Award winner for its circulation division after capturing two dozen journalism awards for its work last year.
The newspaper earned nine first place awards in writing, video and photo categories and swept the awards for Beat Reporting and Ongoing News Coverage capturing 141 points, the highest in its division. In last year's competition honoring 2024 work, the paper took home a dozen Keystone awards.
The winning entries in the Division IV newspapers category were picked from among nearly 350 entries this year from Pennsylvania news organizations. The entries were judged by journalist members of the Alabama Press Association.
The newspaper
and its winners were honored in Harrisburg on Oct. 8 at the annual awards banquet.
Bucks County Courier Times Executive Editor Danielle Delfin said she was proud of the awards and honored to be recognized, but is most grateful for the continued opportunity to serve readers and the community through local news.
"To be able to tell stories of impact, whether during breaking news or taking a step back and looking deeper with our investigative work, is the real reward. Local news matters more than ever with so much division, misinformation and confusion. We're trusted here in Bucks County and will continue to do the work to answer questions, shed light and hold those in power accountable," she said.
"Our work in 2025 had real impact, led to change and served this community. We look forward to another great year, telling the stories that matter most right here in Bucks."
Michele Haddon, and former reporters JD Mullane and Chris Ullery shared a first place award for Enterprise Reporting for their series“The Hidden Dangers of Low Head Dams,” following the 2025 drowning death of a ranger at Tyler State Park.
Haddon, Mullane and Ullery also won second place in News Feature Story for“These dams look harmless. They're deceptive, dangerous and deadly.”
Haddon won first place awards for Excellence in Reporting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusionfor the second year in a row, and Business or Consumer story for her piece on childhood friends who opened a Morrisville brewery; she also placed second inLifestyle/Entertainment beat reporting.
In the visual categories Haddon won first place for sports action photo forLa Salle football celebrates their Philadelphia Catholic League championship and she captured first and second place for photo story.
Mullane, who retired after some 40 years in local journalism earlier this month, also received an honorable mention for Feature Story for his story about the horse trainers and riders who live in the backstretch village at Parx Racetrack in Bensalem
Former development reporter Lacey Latch, Jo Ciavaglia, Ullery and Mullane share second place for Breaking News reporting forthe fatal Lear jet crash in Philadelphia in January 2025. Latch also placed second in Beat Reporting for local development coverage.
Ciavaglia was awarded first place for Beat Reporting for crime and court coverage and News Feature Story for her piece about Bobby Pietrangelo, an Upper Bucks man who fought, and died, in Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
Ciavaglia also received two second place awards for Investigative Reporting for stories looking at how school districts fail to report child abuse, and Ongoing News Coverage for the 287g controversyin the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office last year and honorable mentions for Personality Profile, Enterprise Reporting.
Photographer Daniella Heminghaus won first place for Features Video for her piece “Bobby the Hero remembered,” about Bobby Pietrangelo and honorable mention in Sports Videos for “New Hope-Solebury football's Colin Foster helps lead the team despite injury.”
Former Central Bucks reporter Jess Rohan and Ullery shared a first place award for Ongoing News Coverage for stories on theimpact of a Trump budget proposal on Bucks County’s Head Start program;
Rohan also won honorable mentions in the Ongoing News category for her stories on the Upper Makefield Sunoco pipeline leak, Beat Reporting for political watchdog coverage and investigative category for her coverage of the child abuse allegations involving Jamison Elementary School, a story she broke and that had ripple effects on district policy and personnel.
Sports reporter Tom Moore also received an honorable mention for Sports Feature for his story about how the death of a sister inspired a Hatboro-Horsham baseball player to continue playing the sport.
Ciavaglia was also honored Oct. 8 by the Pennsylvania chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists with a second place honor in the Spotlight category, the most prestigious in the competition, for aseries ofstories about school reporting failures involvingsuspected child abuse and students who are restrained.
She also received second and third place SPJ honors in Enterprise Reporting for 2025 for her stories on Bucks County jail inmates who are incompetent to stand trial and the cost of 2024 Presidential campaign stops for Bucks County taxpayers,respectively, and a third-place feature writing award for her story about Falls Township police honoring the memory of a girl murdered in 1986.
The Courier Times is part of the USA Today Network. Former news director Bruce Siwy and producer/planner Tom Haines, along with Delfin, rounded out the award-winning team that produces the print editions and phillyburbs.com online.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County Courier Times accepts top PA honor, for two dozen wins
