Six employees of Trib Total Media have been honored with the company’s CORE Value Award, recognizing their outstanding work and commitment to the organization’s guiding principles: ownership, integrity, collaboration, accountability, respect and evolution.
The recipients — Jessica Jones-Spithaler, Dirk Kaufman, Mark McConnell, Stephen Rydzak, Jonathan D. Silver and Paula Reed Ward — were chosen from among 24 nominees for consistently demonstrating the company’s values through their work.
Each honoree represents one of the pillars that shape the company’s culture, according to Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto.
The awards were presented Tuesday night at Coast & Main restaurant in Monroeville, where Bertetto commended the group for the example they set within the organization.
“These awards recognize employees who don’t just talk about our values but put them into action every day,” Bertetto said. “Their dedication, professionalism and willingness to support their teammates strengthen our organization and the work we do for our communities. They represent the spirit of this company, and their contributions make Trib Total Media a better place for everyone.”
The CORE Value Awards were introduced in 2024 as a peer-nominated program designed to highlight employees who embody the company’s mission in their daily work.
Here’s a breakdown of the awards:
Jessica Jones-Spithaler was recognized for the core value of accountability. Jones-Spithaler, 46, of Cranberry, is the Trib’s director of research and analytics. She joined the Trib 20 years ago and has held several positions in the marketing and market research areas.
“Every day I am grateful for the opportunity to work for one of the Pittsburgh region’s most important and impactful organizations,” she said, while crediting the Trib’s leadership for challenging her personally and professionally. “I love working as a team to power the ‘Trib machine’ where everything we do is connected — our readers support our advertisers, our advertisers support our journalism, and our journalism serves the entire community. We power that machine with hard work and dedication.”
Dirk Kaufman was recognized for the core value of collaboration. Kaufman, 62, of Scottdale, is a senior news editor who oversees the company’s Westmoreland County newsroom. He has worked at the Trib for 25 years. His first position with the company was as assistant news editor for the Greensburg Tribune-Review.
“From day one at the Trib, I have always been impressed by the goodness and professionalism of the staff found across all departments,” Kaufman said. “That continues today and is reflected in the flexibility and creativity to be found in our newsrooms. This is not the same business it was 25 years ago, and our staff consistently demonstrates its willingness to change and adapt. It is such an impressive group.”
Mark McConnell was recognized for the core value of evolution. McConnell, 43, of Monroeville, is the Trib’s director of development. He joined the company in 2008 as a web designer.
“It’s really special to work for an organization where so many people are passionate about what they do and are all working toward a common goal,” McConnell said. “The work that my team and I are able to accomplish is only possible because of the support of each of the departments we work with and the leadership of our executive team. Having that kind of support makes it possible for us to focus on building customer-facing experiences and internal tools to help the company succeed.”
Paula Reed Ward was recognized for the core value of integrity. Ward, 50, of Rostraver, has been a courts reporter with the Trib almost six years.
“I’ve been a reporter for nearly 30 years, and I continue to love the work I do,” said Ward, who previously worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “As a journalist, my job is to hold the powerful to account and inform the public of the things they need to know to be good citizens. Using detail and emotion to tell those stories — to leave an impact on our readers — is my favorite part.”
Stephen Rydzak was recognized for the core value of respect. Rydzak, 27, of South Strabane, Washington County, is the marketing manager at Brand Motives, a full-service ad agency owned by Trib Total Media. He has been with the company since October 2023.
He previously worked at Washington & Jefferson College, his alma mater, and had no intention of leaving until his current boss, the Trib’s Chief Revenue Officer, Matt Miller, told him he was looking to “hire for character and train for skill.”
“I immediately knew that if this company was willing to take a chance on me, I was going to do everything I could to let them know that they made the right choice,” Rydzak said. “I also enjoy the daily work of working with literally dozens of businesses across all of their marketing needs. It’s fulfilling to help small businesses in our region grow and succeed.”
Jonathan D. Silver was recognized for the core value of ownership. Silver, 58, of Mt. Lebanon, is a news editor overseeing the Pittsburgh newsroom. He has been at the Trib just over three years, having started as an enterprise reporter.
“I love my team’s dedication, drive and passion,” Silver said. “They care deeply about their areas of coverage. They will fly off to an assignment at a moment’s notice without complaint, and they always back each other up.”
Silver said one of his favorite parts of working in a newsroom is starting the day with a blank slate and then creating by day’s end a full range of stories and images that reflects what is happening in our communities and beyond — the daily miracle, as it’s called in journalism circles.
“The public really doesn’t get to see what goes into that mad daily dash, but it’s really something quite amazing,” he said. “As an editor, I think the most important thing I can bring to the table besides news judgment, and hopefully wisdom, is to let my team know I’m invested in them and am sticking right with them as long as they need, whether it’s staying late to edit stories, helping them talk through complicated matters or difficult interviews, or listening when they’re excited about something they’ve uncovered. If their day’s not done, mine’s not either.”
