COLUMBUS, OH—Sources at this year’s Ohio Journalism Awards confirmed that the acceptance speech by Toledo Truth Teller reporter Mare Pritti, delivered while staring directly at Editor in Chief Ned Sampson, was full of subtext, a fact totally lost on all other attendees.

Pritti, who won an award for her article in the Truth Teller about the cause of a local sewer clog, reportedly took the stage and delivered a speech that seemed to be directly addressing Sampson, though most people in the room were completely unaware of the implications in Pritti’s words.

“Finally, I need to thank Ned Sampson, our editor-in-chief—my editor-in-chief. He gave me an opportunity that changed my life, and he tends to do that with people,” said Pritti to an audience oblivious to the fact that Pritti and Sampson had been developing feelings for each other for the past six months.

“All you need to do to make a dream come true is chase it—don’t stop chasing,” Pritti went on to say in a speech that no one in the hotel ballroom realized was actually a veiled plea for Sampson to drop his inhibitions and chase Pritti romantically. “I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight.”

The Toledo Truth Teller was nominated for overall Outstanding Print Coverage, while Pritti was nominated for her clog coverage and accountant/volunteer reporter Oscar Martinez, author of the Mr. Digit Puzzle, was nominated for Best New Game. The Truth Teller won in all three categories, the first time the paper has won an award of any kind since 1971.

Minutes after Pritti’s acceptance speech, Sampson and Pritti exited the ballroom under the pretense of rehearsing Sampson’s remarks but allegedly crashed a wedding in the adjacent ballroom instead. Wedding guests confirmed the pair could be seen awkwardly dancing and that they “didn’t seem to be practicing any speech.”

Later in the evening, when the Truth Teller won the award for Outstanding Print Journalism, the subtext of yet another speech went undetected by attendees.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” said Enervate corporate strategist Ken Davies, whose simple phrasing belied the fact that he had just spent the entire evening trying to put Enervate CEO Marv Putnam in danger so that Davies could swoop in and save him, a tactic that Davies believed would prevent Putnam from firing him.

Later in the evening, sources confirm that Sampson allowed Pritti to read his full speech privately, after which the two shared what one onlooker called “the most romantic kiss possible in a corporate hotel hallway.”

“Oh, no, my speech was just about journalism,” said Pritti, who spoke to reporters with tousled hair. “I’m really, really excited about the future of journalism.”

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