Middletown native, known for tackling the ‘thorniest issues of the day,’ wins national journalism award

Middletown native Clarence Page keeps racking up the awards.

Page, a 1965 Middletown High School graduate and syndicated columnist, was awarded the W.M. Kiplinger Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism on Thursday night at the National Press Foundation’s annual journalism awards in Washington, D.C.

RELATED: Columnist Page, a former stutterer, gained confidence from local mentor

“Clarence is a great role model for journalists who want to confront society’s ills while maintaining civility in how they express themselves,” E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Director Robert Stewart said in a press release.

Page earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in 1969 and was named its Alumnus of the Year in 2015. He was also inducted into the Ohio Communication Hall of Fame in 2014, bestowed an honorary doctorate degree from OU in 1993 and awarded the L.J. Hortin Distinguished Alumnus from the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in 1991.

RELATED: Page: Police must care about their community

He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1989.

The Kiplinger Award was presented by Knight Kiplinger, editor-in-chief of The Kiplinger Letter, a business forecasting publication founded in 1923.

In awarding the Kiplinger honor to Page, the judges said his “columns tackle the thorniest issues of the day — from immigration to discrimination — with good humor and humility.”

Page, 70, was born in Dayton and raised in Middletown. Page’s award-winning journalism career began when he was 17 as a freelance reporter for the Middletown Journal and Cincinnati Enquirer.

Page was Middletown High School’s commencement speaker in 2014 and OU’s commencement speaker in 1993 and 2001.

RELATED: Pulitzer Prize winner takes Middletown Class of 2014 down memory lane

About the Author