AP Appoints Mitch Stacy Hybrid Sports-News Reporter in Ohio – ABC News

Mitch Stacy, an award-winning AP journalist who has reported from Florida, Georgia and Ohio, has been named a hybrid sports and news reporter in Columbus, Ohio.

The appointment was announced Thursday by Karen Testa, the news cooperative’s leader for the east region of the United States, and Michael Giarrusso, global sports editor.

Stacy has spent the last four years as a breaking news staffer in Columbus, where he has been key in chasing spot news and coordinating coverage across formats with colleagues in the field and editors across the AP.

Stacy spent 10 years as a reporter in Florida, where he covered hurricanes, murder cases and presidential politics, among other things. He joined the AP in 1998 in London, spending more than a year there before working as a sports reporter and columnist for Gator Bait Magazine in Gainesville, Florida. He rejoined the AP as a courts reporter in Atlanta in 2001.

Stacy has won several awards, including a 2008 Green Eyeshade award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

“Mitch’s experience in deadline reporting and sports, coupled with his thorough understanding of Ohio’s teams and news environment, make him the perfect fit for this new position,” Testa said.

Stacy will cover sports and breaking news in Ohio, including Ohio State’s football and basketball teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets and other sports and news in and around central Ohio. He will report to Ohio news editor Deb Martin and east regional sports editor Oskar Garcia.

Stacy is a Huber Heights, Ohio, native and a graduate of Ohio University.