Syracuse Press Club

Syracuse Press Club Since 1951, Syracuse Press Club has represented journalists, students and media professionals throughout Central New York.

We celebrate the best of print, broadcast and digital journalism, and public relations, at our annual awards banquet.

05/10/2025
We at the Syracuse Press Club are thrilled to announce this year's inductee for our Wall of Distinction. 🏆This is the cl...
04/28/2025

We at the Syracuse Press Club are thrilled to announce this year's inductee for our Wall of Distinction. 🏆

This is the club’s highest honor, recognizing individuals whose careers in journalism are dedicated to exceptional reporting, integrity, attention to detail, passion for storytelling, leadership, and mentorship.

Congratulations to Matt Mulcahy of CNYCentral.com, the 2025 inductee for the SPC Wall of Distinction!!

Matt Mulcahy is the anchor and managing editor of the NBC3 news at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. as well as the CW6 news at 10 p.m. The Emmy award-winning journalist started at NBC3 27 years ago. He has been covering Central New York news for more than 30 years.

Matt has won two New York Emmys for anchoring the Best Newscast in both 2015 and 1016. He won an Emmy for Best Documentary, "Bosnia: Returning Home" and is a 17-time New York Emmy nominee for Best Anchor, Best Writing, Best Reporting and other categories.

He has also received Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence WSTM 2016, Best Writing for his "Matt's Memo" blog and reporting on other stories. The Associated Press, the New York State Broadcasters Association, and the Syracuse Press Club have all honored Matt with numerous awards.

In her nomination of Matt for the Wall of Distinction, CNYCentral.com co-anchor Megan Coleman wrote:

"Sifting through publicly available documents, submitting Freedom of Information requests, carefully combing through Syracuse Common Council meetings and Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency agendas may seem mundane to some, but for veteran anchor and reporter Matt Mulcahy, it's all in a fulfilling day's work. For Matt, scratching the surface of an issue is never enough. Digging deeper, providing context and perspective and giving the public a comprehensive understanding of an issue is at the core of Matt's work life.

He has a deep appreciation for the community he calls home, giving viewers a window into the stories that impact their lives. He has a knack for boiling down a complex court filing. He never walks away from doing the work necessary to w**d through convoluted, complex legal language to pluck out important details. In his leisure time, he enjoys listening to old U.S. Supreme Court arguments and finds fascination with nitty gritty details of legal cases and questions from justices on the bench.

From his recent investigation into a whistleblower complaint over contracts that led to the departure of top administrators at Syracuse City Hall to his multi-part series on the abrupt firing of the Manlius Police Chief and ensuing reports about the nearly 40-year-old agreement between local villages and the town, Central New Yorkers have become better informed about their community because of Matt’s steadfast commitment to journalism."

Former WTVH-TV co-anchor Maureen Green wrote this about Matt:

"I anchored with Matt for several years and believe that Matt added a level of professionalism usually found in larger television markets. He knew the material, had an ease about him that made digesting the news easier to take, which was important to Matt because he was fully invested in Central New York.

I don't ever remember Matt being unnerved either on or off the camera, even when things were falling apart behind the scenes. With Matt's steady presence, the audience never knew. He elevated all of us."

Matt was born in Syracuse and grew up in Liverpool, N.Y. He earned his master's degree in management and leadership from Binghamton University and his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Ithaca College. He also completed the entrepreneurship boot camp at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. Matt enjoys golf, running, and basketball. He resides in Fayetteville with his wife Jamie and dog Bentley.

Congratulations Matt! We look forward to honoring you and your career at the Syracuse Press Club awards dinner on May 3!

The Syracuse Press Club is heartbroken to learn of the passing of longtime member, colleague, and friend, Kenneth Jackso...
04/24/2025

The Syracuse Press Club is heartbroken to learn of the passing of longtime member, colleague, and friend, Kenneth Jackson. Ken’s unwavering dedication to journalism and the Syracuse community has left its mark on our profession and our city.

Ken served as the club's president from 1994-1996 and has received more than 30 SPC Professional Recognition Awards, including multiple honors for his blog and column, The Hall Monitor. In 2023, Ken was added to the press club's Wall of Distinction. Next week, his news website, UrbanCNY.com, will earn one more accolade during our annual awards ceremony -- Best News Website.

As recently as last fall, Ken continued mentoring young journalists through our Syracuse Journalism Lab at ITC High School and at our college networking event. His presence was felt not only in his work but in the lives he touched.

We will miss Ken’s voice, his leadership and his relentless pursuit of truth. His legacy will live on in every young journalist he mentored, every story he told and every community he helped uplift.

The Syracuse Press Club is pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 A. Brohmann Roth Newcomer Award, based on stellar ...
04/21/2025

The Syracuse Press Club is pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 A. Brohmann Roth Newcomer Award, based on stellar work by a young reporter in 2024.

Congratulations to Patrick McCarthy, a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics!

McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse, N.Y. He developed his love for writing as a student at Nottingham High School, and later attended the Maxwell and Newhouse Schools at Syracuse University.

He previously worked as a writer at Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and contributed concert reviews for syracuse.com | The Post Standard. McCarthy also served as a contributing writer for TriplePundit, a publication focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility.

Since joining Central Current as a government and politics reporter in August 2024, McCarthy has covered both local and national developments affecting the CNY area.

After the Onondaga Nation regained 1,000 acres of its historic land in Tully in October – an unprecedented victory in its Land Back struggles – McCarthy joined Nation representatives on their first unrestricted walk through the land. His feature on that hike explores the historic harms and hopes for healing which often define such land transfers.

McCarthy has also reported on the Syracuse Police Department’s push for controversial surveillance technologies. In a series of stories in November and December, McCarthy’s coverage revealed that the city and the common council appeared to be skipping Mayor Ben Walsh’s own review process for such technology. The city then reversed course and submitted a proposed drone program for the mayor’s technology working group to review.

Meanwhile, McCarthy covered “Good Cause” eviction and the city’s housing crisis, union efforts on Syracuse University’s campus, and the national fight for NY-22 (including the fallout from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s CHIPS Act comments made after a rally for then-Congressman Brandon Williams).

Outside of work, McCarthy enjoys reading, playing guitar, and writing prose and poetry. He looks forward to writing more stories that inform his community on the decisions and developments that will decide our future.

Congratulations Patrick! We look forward to presenting you with the 2025 Newcomer Award at the Banquet at the Collegian Hotel & Suites Syracuse on Saturday, May 3.

đź“° Today, April 21 is the final day to register for the Syracuse Press Club's Professional Recognition Dinner. Buy your tickets here! https://syracusepressclub.org/dinner-tickets/

The Syracuse Press Club board is proud to announce the 2025 winner of our prestigious $2,000 Devesty-Williams Scholarshi...
04/14/2025

The Syracuse Press Club board is proud to announce the 2025 winner of our prestigious $2,000 Devesty-Williams Scholarship.

Congratulations to Ryan Storie of Cicero, NY!

Ryan Storie is a freshman studying broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University.

Ryan is originally from Cicero and graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in 2024. He is a high school sports reporter for syracuse.com and he hosts a Sunday morning radio show on ESPN Syracuse known as “Players Only.” He also did reporting for WAER FM Radio and CitrusTV.

Ryan also does play-by-play commentary for the Auburn Doubledays baseball team. He hopes to become a sports broadcaster after his time at Syracuse University.

In his scholarship application, Ryan wrote: "Journalism is perhaps the most important profession of the 21st century. The media’s role as a watchdog has historically helped to uphold democracy within the United States of America, and that responsibility has become even more prominent."

Ryan, we look forward to presenting you with your certificate and scholarship at the SPC Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 3! Congratulations!

The Syracuse Press Club is thrilled to announce the winner of our prestigious 2025 Bill Carey Award for Journalist of th...
04/09/2025

The Syracuse Press Club is thrilled to announce the winner of our prestigious 2025 Bill Carey Award for Journalist of the Year.

The club annually recognizes one journalist who stands out among peers for contributions to news coverage in a 12-month period (2024).

Congratulations to Marnie Eisenstadt, the 2025 Journalist of the Year!

Marnie Eisenstadt is a public affairs reporter at syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. She has more than two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics and institutions including mental health, addiction, housing, human services, youth violence and juvenile justice. She specializes in narrative storytelling and investigative reporting.

John Lammers, syracuse.com’s senior director of content, wrote this about Marnie:

“Day by day, story by story, Marnie Eisenstadt built in 2024 a rare news beat, a grateful audience and a remarkable body of work. Marnie dived into the deaths of three children at the hands of their parents. Marnie told the kids’ heartbreaking stories and uncovered the institutional failures that put the children at risk.

Neffy Harris, a 6 year old who loved Elmo, was killed by her mother, who beat her to death with a belt. County child protective workers had several chances to save Neffy, Marnie revealed, but they inexplicably kept returning her to the mother, a mentally ill drug addict. Ashton DeGonzaque, an 11-year-old Spiderman fan, died from an accidental drug overdose caused by his father. The juvenile system ignored many red flags to put a child under the care of a man incapable of even caring for himself, Marnie’s investigation found. Rykelan Brown, a 4 year old who loved Paw Patrol and his stuffed dinosaur, died from injuries suffered in a fall down some stairs. His father said it was an accident, but Marnie revealed the guy had a history of violence toward children. After Marnie’s story showing where social services dropped the ball here, too, cops arrested the father.

It was, in effect, an investigative juvenile services beat. Understand how difficult this work is. Cops aren’t talking; in some cases, they know less than Marnie. The sources are people in peril who are hard to find, tough to pin down and suspicious of institutions. Social service agencies can hide behind the confidentiality afforded juvenile cases. Marnie developed the trust of crucial sources inside the system. She tracked down and won over the victims’ families and friends. Our readers appreciated Marnie’s advocacy for kids.

All year, she developed important enterprise on crime and safety. She broke news in several stories about the ambush murders of two law enforcement officers. She went deep on the rash of Kia car thefts and the impact on the victims, as well as the failures of the local cops and courts to attack juvenile crime. She revealed the daily attacks on the homeless by drug dealers outside a shelter, and it led to a quick remedy. She broke the story on a well-known business executive canned because of sexual harassment. Her story on two honor students denied college aid because of government screwups won the attention of Senator Chuck Schumer. He got it fixed.

On top of it all, Marnie is a great teammate. She brings along less-experienced reporters on stories, giving them an education. She even organized an office clothing drive for the homeless and a food drive for a church pantry.”

Marnie is also the 2018 New York State Associated Press Journalist of the Year and has numerous statewide awards for excellence in feature writing. She has a New York State Emmy Award for investigative reporting for "Drunk with Power," a print and video series about a rogue AA group in Syracuse. She is a graduate of the Roy H. Park School of Journalism at Ithaca College and a mother of two teenaged daughters. Read more here: https://syracusepressclub.org/news/marnie-eisenstadt-of-syracuse-com-the-post-standard-named-2025-journalist-of-the-year/

Congratulations Marnie, we look forward to honoring your incredible year of journalism at the SPC Awards on Saturday, May 3, 2025!

The prestigious Bill Carey Journalist of the Year Award is named after longtime Syracuse broadcaster Bill Carey. In a career that spanned more than 40 years, Bill was involved with covering virtually every major story in greater Syracuse since the 1970s. He finished his career as a senior reporter with Time Warner Cable News (now Spectrum News 1). He was known as a skilled writer, editor and beloved mentor and guiding light to many young journalists. Bill died in 2015 and is missed by many.

SPC Awards dinner seats are filling up fast. This is a highly competitive year, and we are capping attendance at 200 guests. Buy your tickets and tables before Monday, April 21: https://syracusepressclub.org/dinner-tickets/

We're thrilled to announce the finalists for the Syracuse Press Club's Professional Recognition Awards. Our judges from ...
04/01/2025

We're thrilled to announce the finalists for the Syracuse Press Club's Professional Recognition Awards. Our judges from partner press clubs across the country reviewed nearly 400 entries and narrowed it down to the best of the best. Find the link to the finalists in the comments.

🏆 The Syracuse Press Club is pleased to announce the winner of our 2025 Selwyn Kershaw Professional Standards Award. Thi...
03/31/2025

🏆 The Syracuse Press Club is pleased to announce the winner of our 2025 Selwyn Kershaw Professional Standards Award. This award is presented to individuals whose high journalistic standards serve as an inspiration to others.

Congratulations to David Wilcox, the managing editor of The Citizen in Auburn and auburnpub.com!

David has been working at The Citizen in Auburn since 2006, shortly after finishing his M.A. in arts journalism at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. He began as a features writer, was promoted to features editor in 2009 and became executive editor in 2023.

While leading the newspaper and its website, auburnpub.com, he continues to produce content regularly in the areas of business, crime, arts and culture, and more. Over the course of his career he has won more than 40 awards from the Syracuse Press Club, New York State Associated Press Association, New York News Publishers Association and more. He lives in Auburn with his wife, Alaina, and two dogs, Louie and Bernie.

Congratulations David, we look forward to recognizing you at the SPC Awards on Saturday, May 3! Buy your tickets and tables here before Monday, April 14:
https://syracusepressclub.org/dinner-tickets

Today (March 14) is the FINAL DAY to submit nominations for the Syracuse Press Club 2025 special honors. Each year, we i...
03/14/2025

Today (March 14) is the FINAL DAY to submit nominations for the Syracuse Press Club 2025 special honors.

Each year, we induct one or two outstanding Central New York journalists to The Syracuse Press Club Wall of Distinction. 🏆

This is the club’s highest honor, recognizing individuals whose careers in journalism are dedicated to exceptional reporting, integrity, attention to detail, passion for storytelling, leadership, and mentorship.

You can nominate a colleague here: https://syracusepressclub.org/special-honors/

Recent inductees to the Wall of Distinction are Donna Ditota and Mike Waters of syracuse.com (2024), Ken Jackson of Urban CNY News (2023) and Scott Atkinson of 7 News | WWNY (2022), pictured clockwise.

Today is the last edition of the Cortland Standard, after 157 years of family-owned publication. The Cortland Standard P...
03/13/2025

Today is the last edition of the Cortland Standard, after 157 years of family-owned publication. The Cortland Standard Printing Co. has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

The newspaper will cease publication, a casualty of declining readership and increasing costs, including an expected 25% tariff on newsprint.

The Cortland Standard is older than the city of Cortland itself. It was the second-oldest family-owned newspaper in New York, but one of the five oldest family-owned newspapers in America.

“I hoped this day would never come,” said Publisher and Editor Evan C. Geibel. “I’m so very grateful to my colleagues and the community for what they’ve done for me, my family and each other.”

This is a heartbreaking loss for the Central New York community. Our thoughts are with the journalists, advertising representatives, customer service and production staff who ran the newspaper for a remarkable 157 years.

Read the full note from the publisher here:

This is the last edition of the Cortland Standard you will ever read. The family-owned newspaper will cease publication, a casualty of declining readership and increasing costs. It …

Syracuse Press Club is now accepting nominations for our 2025 special honors. The deadline to submit a nomination is Fri...
03/06/2025

Syracuse Press Club is now accepting nominations for our 2025 special honors. The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, March 14.

Syracuse Press Club annually recognizes a Journalist of the Year who stands out among their peers for outstanding contributions to news coverage in a 12-month period. 🏆

The club accepts nominations from working members of the Central New York media. You may not nominate yourself. Each entry must consist of three work samples (multi-part series count as one) from over the course of the last year, as well as a letter from a nominator.

The nomination letter should include a description of obstacles the nominee had to overcome and the impact of his or her work. This award is intended to highlight a nominee’s work over the course of the last year; it is not a lifetime achievement award.

Nominate here: https://syracusepressclub.org/journalist-of-the-year/

The prestigious Bill Carey Journalist of the Year Award is named after longtime Syracuse broadcaster Bill Carey. In a career that spanned more than 40 years, Bill was involved with covering virtually every major story in greater Syracuse since the 1970s. He finished his career as a senior reporter with Time Warner Cable News (now known as Spectrum News 1). He was known as a skilled writer, a disciplined editor and a beloved mentor and guiding light to many young journalists. Bill died in 2015 and is missed by many.

Recent winners of the Bill Carey Journalist of the Year Award are Glenn Coin of syracuse.com (2024), Iris St. Meran of NewsChannel 9 (2023) and Patrick O’Toole of Spectrum News 1 Central New York/S Tier (2022), pictured.

05/20/2024

Syracuse Press Club President Katrina Tulloch spoke to CNYCentral.com reporter Mary Kielar, urging the Syracuse City School District Board to make openness and transparency a priority, in light of a recent letter sent by SCSD lawyers threatening to cease contact with a local newsroom.

School board members are elected officials who work for taxpayers. Asking questions of elected officials does not constitute harassment. This is a reporter’s job. Press freedom is protected in our constitution’s First Amendment.

Elected officials are accountable to the public. Reporters serve the public by asking questions. It’s the job of an elected official to provide context and clarity on their positions, and to defend their actions to the people who elect them. Regular communication with the press comes with the territory.

Some elected officials try to hide their mistakes and avoid accountability by ignoring questions or restricting media access. This shameful behavior does not serve the Syracuse public.

Journalists have a right and obligation to look into and report on those who are entrusted with taxpayer dollars, especially those whose decisions directly impact public education.

We will always stand for press freedom and the public’s right to know.

Watch the full news segment here: https://cnycentral.com/news/local/syracuse-city-school-district-press-club-school-board-cease-desist-letter-lawyer-first-amendment-journalists-newsroom #

Address

Lake George, CO

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Syracuse Press Club posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Syracuse Press Club:

Share