MIAMI COUNTY —Miami Valley Today’s Photographer Mike Ullery and staff reporter Melanie Yingst have been named finalists for their entries in Division I of the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors’ 2020 newspaper contest.

The awards in actual order of finish – first, second and third places – will be announced during a virtual awards program along with the General Excellence, Hall of Fame, Rising Star, and First Amendment winners.

Ullery is a finalist for Best Photographer. Ullery’s entries included “Sun and Smoke” for Best News Photo and “Unrest in Troy” for Best Photo Story.

Yingst is a finalist for Best Investigative Reporting for “Counselor Resigns Amid Controversy” which documented the resignation of Milton-Union High School’s award-winning guidance counselor Paula Shaw.

Fifty-two daily newspapers submitted 1,418 entries in the contest, which featured news and sports stories, features, editorials, columns, graphics and photos from 2020.

Entries were judged by editors from The Detroit News and MLive, Division V; The Grand Haven (Michigan) Tribune, Division IV; The McComb Daily (Michigan), Division III; Mount Pleasant (Michigan) Morning Sun, Hearst Media, and Cadillac (Michigan) News, Division II; the Petoskey (Michigan) News-Review and the Alpena (Michigan) News, Division I.