New Paltz grad wins editing award

Danielle Ziemba, Weekend and Special Sections editor of The Daily Star, has won a prestigious Dow Jones Special Achievement Award, one of only five or six given out annually to Ottaway Newspapers and Dow Jones employees, presenters announced Thursday. Ziemba is a 1998 graduate of the Journalism Program at SUNY New Paltz. The Daily Star is a member of the Ottaway Newspapers group, a subsidiary of Dow Jones, Inc., owner of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, among other ventures. Ziemba, 29, of Downsville, joined The Daily Star in 1998. The award “recognizes performance over and above the norm” in 2005. Ziemba is in charge of the newspaper’s Weekend Lifestyle section, which underwent a major change in content and appearance under her supervision in 2005. John Wilcox, Ottaway chairman and CEO and a senior vice president of Dow Jones, told Ziemba in a letter, “You performed a minor miracle in transforming what was a largely wire-driven Weekend Lifestyle section into a vital, totally local product. “You supervise freelancers who provide excellent weekly columns of particular interest to teenagers, senior citizens, the arts community and others, in addition to color artwork provided by youngsters of elementary school age and younger,” Wilcox said. “This is in addition to a weekly centerpiece project that appears on the section front each week. The improvement in that section has been beyond remarkable.” Ziemba will receive a monetary award in addition to the plaudits of her colleagues. “Deni is a wonderful asset to The Daily Star and its readers,” said Daily Star President and Publisher Daniel B. Swift. “Her efforts are key to making the Lifestyle section a locally focused edition that involves input from many of our readers in the Heartland of New York. “That she has been cited by Dow Jones is a signal of her deep dedication to making The Daily Star the best it can be,” Swift said. “What more can I say but ‘Bravo!'” Editor Sam Pollak said Ziemba is an excellent example of the many Daily Star employees who perform their duties mainly out of the spotlight. “Deni is one of those people whose jobs don’t often afford them the recognition that comes with bylines but without whom it would be impossible to put out a newspaper,” Pollak said. “Deni is extremely popular with her colleagues and one of the hardest workers you’ll ever meet. I couldn’t be more proud of her progress as a journalist.”