Retired Catholic Accent Editor Honored for Storytelling

Jerry Zufelt, retired editor of The Catholic Accent, helped the Diocese of Greensburg win its first ever Gabriel Award from the Catholic Media Association. Zufelt co-wrote The Accent On-Air in the final two years of his career, a broadcast evangelization show which airs Sunday mornings on WTAE. The Accent On-Air won a second place Gabriel Award for narrative series storytelling from the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals and honors excellence in broadcasting.  Zufelt joined The Catholic Accent in 2000. He started as the managing editor of The Catholic Accent newspaper, became interim editor and interim director of communications in 2005, and assumed both roles on a permanent basis in 2007.  The paper has received several national Catholic press awards during his tenure, including first-place honors for the issue marking the one-year anniversary of 9/11, the Bishop Malesic ordination issue and the coverage of the diocese’s response to the opioid crisis. The paper also received a second-place honor for its coverage of the aftermath of the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. Zufelt retired in 2020.