Ethan Ehrenhaft wins the MDDC Rookie of the Year 2022 prize for new journalists for his sharp, clean writing across a variety of disciplines, from breaking news to election coverage to community features and obituaries. He has become an “indispensable” member of the team covering the Howard County community.
This award honors a new journalist with less than 18 months’ experience in the field. The submission package included three to five clips of the reporter’s work and a letter of recommendation from their editor. Three nominations were received.
The award was judged by a distinguished duo: Greg Conderacci, of Good Ground Consulting (and a former journalist) and Tom Linthicum, retired editor of The Baltimore Sun and The Daily Record and news media consultant.
The judges were looking for versatility—feature and news; writing, social media, video—and skill. All three nominees delivered. The nominees may be early in their careers, but they have been entrusted with sensitive and important news, each of them performed an important service for their community. Journalists today need to be able to tell their stories in a meaningful way, and all of the nominees demonstrated strong writing skills that contribute to their publications’ success.
The judges remarked that Ehrenhaft exhibited versatility and showed polished leads backed by solid reporting. In a small team, it was obvious that Ehrenhaft brought zest and strong writing skills to the role. Molly Fellin Spence, senior content editor at Baltimore Sun Media Group complimented his efforts to build contacts and make connections in Howard County since joining the staff in August of 2022. She goes on to write that “Ethan is enthusiastic, dedicated, curious and passionate about being a reporter.” His work consistently gains the attention of readers and appreciation of the community. Ehrenhaft continuously strives to improve as a reporter, checking in to make sure his articles are accurate and fully reported.
Ehrenhaft is a 2020 graduate of Davidson College, with a degree in history. Previously, he was the development and impact coordinator at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
