The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Enquirer staff photographer Michael E. Keating received an Award of Excellence for his work during 2003 in the Ohio News Photographers Association contest.

Results were announced Saturday after judging at Kent State University.

Keating, who has worked for The Enquirer for 25 years, took first place honors in three categories: general news, enterprise feature, assigned feature.

The Enquirer staff won on 10 awards, including third place as Staff of the Year. They include:

•  Glenn M. Hartong, first place for news picture story.

•  Jeff Swinger, second place for spot news.

•  Steven M. Herppich, third place for spot news.

•  Craig Ruttle, honorable mention for assigned feature.

•  The Cincinnati Enquirer, first place for team picture story.

Liz Dufour, director of photography for The Enquirer, called the winning photographs examples of the staff's ability to cover tragic news including "such a deeply senstitive event as a firefighter's death. I think our photographers were sensitive to that and worked hard. We covered it without being intrusive. It's important to keep the readers in mind while conveying the news."

Dale Omori of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was chosen Photographer of the Year for 2003.

More than 1,500 entries from 125 photographers were submitted for the 53rd annual contest.

Photographs were judged in 24 categories including spot news and features.

The Associated Press contributed.