Caleb Soptelean
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Caleb Soptelean’s Biography
Read Full Bio →Caleb M. Soptelean has been a newspaper reporter or editor for over 30 years covering a variety of beats including law enforcement, schools, sports and city and county government. He takes photographs and is a user of Facebook and X. Caleb M. Soptelean has won awards from newspaper associations in Arizona, Maryland, Montana and Virginia.
Caleb Soptelean’s Journalist Portfolio
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Interview
See all 7 answers →What was your first job as a journalist?
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What does it mean to be a journalist?
Awards
See all 6 awards →Maryland Delaware DC Press Association
2022 - Religion reporting
First-place award for story, "From TV production to the pulpit." The Rev. Peter Ackerman tells of how he left TV production to become an Episcopal priest. His father, Harry Ackerman, was the executive producer for such popular shows as “Bewitched,” “Gidget” and “Dennis the Menace.” His mother, Elinor Donahue, was an actress who played Betty, the oldest daughter on “Father Knows Best.” She was also the lady pharmacist Ellie Walker, who was Andy Griffith’s first girlfriend on the first season of the “Andy Griffith Show.”
Maryland, Delaware DC Press Association
2021 - Religion reporting
Staff writer Caleb M. Soptelean, who now covers Charles County, won a first in religion reporting for this article “Frustrations are starting to mount.” A judge commented, “The writer was successful in presenting the pastor [Rev. Robert Hahn] as someone willing to fight for his congregation and community. He never came across as anything less than concerned. The bank damned itself with the weak water reply.”
Virginia Newspaper Association
2015 - Best news story
Third place.
Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year, Montana Newspaper Association
2014 - photography
This award was chosen for the top photograph among all newspaper divisions in Montana: "Wall exam." The photo of Zach Hoffer and his shadow examining a wall in a tunnel in Glacier National Park also won a first-place photography award in the weekly division.
Montana Newspaper Association
2014 - Best News Story
Montana Newspaper Association, second place, "Son killed in Libya." The father of Benghazi hero Ty Woods has moved to Bigfork, Mont. Woods, who helped rescue over 30 people on Sept. 11, 2012, was a Navy Seal.
Arizona Newspaper Association
2000 - Best team, sport or sports beat coverage
Second-place for covering Chester Downs, a Northern Cheyenne, competing in Boston Marathon.