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Patch Associate Regional Editor Wins SPJ Spotlight Award

Zandy Dudiak won a third place award for a story about the kidnap-murder cold case of Beth Lynn Barr, of Wilkinsburg.

 

Zandy Dudiak, associate regional editor of Western Pennsylvania Patch Region 2, won third place for enterprise reporting in the statewide Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone State Professional Chapter's 2012 Spotlight Awards.

Her winning entry was "Kidnap-Murder Case 'Still Not A Lost Cause' 34 Years Later," which interwove the story of a woman who was approached by a man at a public bus stop just hours before 7-year-old Beth Lynn Barr was kidnapped on her way home from school the same day just blocks away—and how the two incidents might be related. The story was the first time the woman at the bus stop had been interviewed about the 1977 case.

The award was presented Saturday in a ceremony at the Wyndham in Gettysburg, PA.

Related Topics: Beth Lynn Barr, Kidnapping, Murder, Society of Professional Journalists, and Zandy Dudiak

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Amanda Gillooly

1:28 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

I agree, Billee: Congrats, Z—you rock!!

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Zandy Dudiak

9:57 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Thanks everyone! This story has been with me throughout my journalism career. While I am pleased to win the award, what I'm really hoping for is for police to be able to bring someone to justice for Beth's death.

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Anna Coen

11:17 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Congrats Zandy. It's good to see someone rewarded for their interest in the community as a whole and the good reporting you do. The Patch has become a part of my everyday life. Keep up the good work. Anna Coen

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Michael Buzzelli

12:02 pm on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Congratulations! You deserve every accolade!

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