James Drew, 44, is Columbus bureau chief for The Blade. An Indiana University graduate with degrees in journalism and political science, he joined The Blade in 1989 after working for The Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette and The Wilmington (North Carolina) Morning Star. He covered city hall and politics before joining The Blade’s Columbus Bureau in 1996. He won the Best Reporter in Ohio award for 2004 from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists and second-place for Best Religion and Values coverage for his series, “Culture Wars.” The Blade, which broke Ohio’s “Coingate” scandal, was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for public service, a finalist for The Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, was awarded the print grand prize and first place in investigative reporting in the National Headliner Awards, first place in editorial excellence and investigative reporting for newspapers more than 75,000 circulation by the Inland Press Association, an Excellence in Journalism award from the Press Club of Toledo, and a Crystal Award from the Toledo Professional Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications.