OU Daily alum Joe Mussatto placed twice today in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest.
Mussatto, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for The Oklahoman, was honored among the top 10 beat writers as well as top 10 explanatory writers for stories written last year throughout the pandemic in Division B, which covers the second-largest tier of news organizations.
The first category demonstrates overall excellence, authority and audience engagement on a beat. His pieces included breaking news on a player sued over rape allegations, a key win at Boston, a feature on a Massachusetts high school star who shaped Sam Presti’s mindset and career arc as an elite general manager, and profiles of a team vice president and its new head coach.
The second category focuses on stories including trends, issues and original ideas that shed new light on issues and personalities in the news. His honored piece in that category was on the Massachusetts high school star who influenced Presti.
Mussatto joined The Oklahoman in 2018 and originally covered OU football, men’s basketball and softball. Before that, he covered University of Kentucky football and basketball for SEC Country. In 2015-16, he was editor-in-chief of The Daily.