From Our Archive
March
7, 2003
Scripps Howard Foundation announces National Journalism Award Winners
CINCINNATI -- The Scripps Howard
Foundation today announced the winners of its National
Journalism Awards, a competition open to all U.S. news
organizations and honoring the best in print and electronic
journalism during 2002.
The awards recognize excellence
in 18 categories including editorial writing, human interest
writing, environmental and public service reporting,
business/economics reporting, commentary, photojournalism,
radio and television journalism, college cartooning, Web
reporting and editorial cartooning.
The awards also
recognize distinguished service to literacy and the First
Amendment.
Cash awards totaling $95,000 will be
presented April 4 during a dinner at the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C.
"The National Journalism Awards
were established to remind us each year that journalists, when
true to their high calling, make a profound difference in the
world in which they live," said Judith G. Clabes, president
and chief executive officer of the Scripps Howard Foundation.
"The journalists whose work we honor this year applied their
skills to bring some of our society's most complicated and
challenging issues to the forefront. The quality of their work
is an inspiration to us all."
The Scripps Howard
Foundation is the philanthropic arm of The E. W. Scripps
Company.
Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief executive
officer for Scripps, said, "The winners of this year's
National Journalism Awards represent the best in American
journalism. Our democracy was built on a free and unfettered
press, which thrives when its practitioners are able to
achieve the high degree of excellence that is represented by
this outstanding group of journalists and news
organizations."
The National Journalism Award winners
are:
EDITORIAL WRITING
John McCormick, Chicago
Tribune. McCormick will receive $5,000 and the Walker
Stone Award trophy.
McCormick won for a series of
editorials entitled "The Chicago Crime," which focused
attention on the city's unusually high murder rate. Judges
said, "McCormick's extraordinary report . . . takes the
editorial page to a place where it seldom goes. The report is
a combination of agenda setting, teaching and motivating.
Hundreds of lives may be saved." Finalists:
John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle; and Ann LoLordo, The
Baltimore Sun.
COMMENTARY
Frank Cerabino, The Palm Beach Post,
West Palm Beach, Fla. Cerabino will receive $5,000 and a
trophy.
Cerabino won for a selection of his general
interest columns, including commentary about frivolous
lawsuits stemming from the Americans With Disabilities Act and
criticism of the criminal justice system for punishing petty
thieves more harshly than corporate criminals. Judges said,
Cerabino "writes for his readers - funny and entertaining -
but with a serious mission. He tackles substantive issues with
great flair." Finalist: Mark Holmberg,
Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch.
HUMAN INTEREST
WRITING
Paula Bock, The Seattle Times. Bock will
receive $5,000 and the Ernie Pyle Award
trophy.
Bock won for a selection of human interest articles,
including one entitled "In Her Mother's Shoes," in which she
draws attention to the international AIDS epidemic through the
life experiences of a woman and her family in Zimbabwe. Judges
said, Bock has "a wonderful range of writing styles. An
excellent example of a reporter staying out of the way of a
good story while providing necessary informational
bridges." Finalists: Jonathan Tilove,
Newhouse News Service, Washington D.C.; and Donna St. George,
The Washington Post.
WEB REPORTING
The Sun, San
Bernardino, Calif. The Sun will receive $5,000 and a
trophy.
The Sun won for a series of stories entitled,
"Teens Who Kill," that drew attention to the problem of
extreme teen violence in the community. The Web component of
the series included court documentation, video confessions and
photo archives of the cases that were profiled. Judges said,
"the Sun staff used multimedia tools well to give energy to
the newspaper's excellent reporting project."
Finalist: BET.com, Washington
D.C.
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING - Over 100,000
circulation
Sam Roe, Chicago Tribune. Roe will receive
$5,000 and the Edward J. Meeman Award trophy.
Roe won
for his report entitled, "Supercar: The Tanking of an American
Dream," in which he provided an in-depth account of the events
and behind-the-scenes forces that led to the demise of the
U.S. government-funded project to produce a highly
fuel-efficient automobile. Judges said, "We were looking for
originality, depth and presentation. Sam Roe combined all
three with clarity and strong story-telling."
Finalists: The Times-Picayune, New Orleans
(John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein); St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(Chris Carroll, Bill Lambrecht and Peter
Shinkle).
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING – Under 100,000
circulation
Canon City (Colo.) Daily Record. The
newspaper will receive $5,000 and the Edward J. Meeman Award
trophy.
The
Daily Record won for its special section, "The Cotter Files,"
that drew attention to a local corporate landowner's plans to
serve as a depository for thousands of tons of radioactive
soil from a New Jersey Superfund site. Judges said, "An
incredible effort by a 9,000-circulation newspaper. Although
small in staff, it spoke with the voice of a 9,000-pound
gorilla." Finalists: Sherry Devlin,
Missoulian, Missoula, Mont.; and Taylor Bright, Birmingham
(Ala.) Post-Herald.
EDITORIAL CARTOONING
Clay
Bennett, The Christian Science Monitor, Boston. Bennett
will receive $5,000 and a trophy.
Bennett won for a selection of
cartoons commenting on national issues, including the threat
of war with Iraq, the erosion of confidence in public
securities markets and homeland security. Judges said, "The
total sophistication of Bennett's work set it apart. The point
of his cartoons is instantly clear. Bennett has something to
say and expresses his views clearly and without pretense."
Finalist: Walt Handelsman, Newsday, Melville,
N.Y.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO LITERACY
Orlando
(Fla.) Sentinel. The newspaper will receive $5,000, the
Charles E. Scripps Award trophy and a $5,000 donation from the
Scripps Howard Foundation to the literacy group of its choice.
The Sentinel won for its "Reading by Nine" initiative,
a broad continuing effort that has been examining why nearly
one-third of Florida's school children aren't reading by the
age of nine. Judges said, "The Sentinel is not only examining
the reading crisis in depth, but is also offering solutions.
The scope and influence of the Sentinel's efforts to combat
illiteracy are truly distinguished."
DISTINGUISHED
SERVICE TO THE FIRST AMENDMENT
Seth Rosenfeld, San
Francisco Chronicle. Rosenfeld will receive $5,000 and the
Edward Willis Scripps Award trophy.
Rosenfeld won for
his series of articles published as a special section entitled
"The Campus Files: Reagan, Hoover and the UC Red Scare." The
series, based on thousands of government documents obtained
through 22 years of legal wrangling, exposed how the FBI
engaged in unlawful Cold War intelligence activities at the
University of California at Berkeley. Judges said, "An
extraordinary achievement resulting from a nearly quarter
century's pursuit of the truth." Finalist:
David Ashenfelter, Detroit Free
Press.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
Don Bartletti, Los Angeles
Times. Bartletti will receive $5,000 and a
trophy.
Bartletti's winning portfolio included his
photography for a story that recounted a Honduran teenager's
journey from Mexico to North Carolina in search of his mother.
Judges said, "This is photojournalism at its finest. The
pictures provide a narrative of drama . . . that pulls the
reader into the story. This is a photographer that is not
afraid to get involved." Finalist: Alan
Berner, The Seattle Times.
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS
REPORTING
Chicago Tribune. The newspaper will
receive $5,000 and the William Brewster Styles Award
trophy.
The newspaper won for its four-part series, "A
Final Accounting," which detailed the downfall of the
Chicago-based Andersen accounting firm. Judges said: "Out of
the reams of stories about corporate fallibility, the Chicago
Tribune staff . . . captured best the lessons of misguided
corporate values." Finalists: Charles
Gasparino, The Wall Street Journal, New York; and The
Oregonian, Portland.
JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN
ELECTRONIC MEDIA - Small Market Radio
KOSU-FM, Stillwater,
Okla. The radio station will receive $5,000 and the Jack
R. Howard Award trophy.
KOSU won for its documentary,
"Tar Creek: An Environmental Disaster," which explored two
decades of delays and problems that have blocked reclamation
of abandoned lead and zinc mines in Northeastern Oklahoma.
Judges said, "KOSU radio listens to and gives voice to the
people who are tired of being studied."
Finalist: West Virginia Public Radio,
Charleston.
JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
- Large Market Radio
Minnesota
Public Radio/American RadioWorks, St. Paul. The national
documentary unit will receive $5,000 and the Jack R. Howard
Award trophy.
American RadioWorks won for its
three-part documentary, "Corrections, Inc.," that shed light
on the private corrections industry's influence on U.S.
criminal justice policy. The documentary aired on National
Public Radio. Judges said, "Anyone who advocates longer prison
terms and more arrests should also consider the cost of such
policies. This story left judges saying, 'I never thought
about that.'" Finalists: WNPR-FM, Connecticut
Public Radio, Hartford; and WVXU-FM,
Cincinnati.
JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC
MEDIA - Small Market TV/Cable
KEYE-TV, Austin,
Texas. The television station will receive $5,000 and the
Jack R. Howard Award trophy.
KEYE won for a six-part series by
reporter Nanci Wilson and photojournalist Kyle Duran that
exposed weaknesses and failings of the local criminal justice
system. Judges said, "An excellent example of database
reporting that established a serious breach of the criminal
justice system in Travis County, Texas."
Finalist: WCAX-TV, Burlington,
Vt.
JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
- Large Market TV/Cable
KHOU-TV, Houston. The
television station will receive $5,000 and the Jack R. Howard
Award trophy.
KHOU won for its six-part series,
"Evidence of Errors," that documented serious errors by a
Houston crime lab and the effect the errors had on the
outcomes of local criminal cases. Judges said, "The
investigation was thorough, the sources were on the record and
the results were impressive." Finalists:
WFAA-TV, Dallas; and ESPN, Bristol, Conn.
COLLEGE
CARTOONING
Steven Olexa, The Daily Beacon, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville. Olexa will receive $5,000 and the
Charles M. Schulz Award trophy.
Olexa won for the body
of his college cartooning work, which includes a comic strip
that is published regularly in the campus newspaper. Judges
said, "His refreshing drawing style, imaginative layouts,
spare, well-chosen dialogue and good character acting combine
to make his strips readable and inviting."
Finalists: Jyrki Vainio, Daily Kent Stater,
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; Daniel Spottswood, The
Campus Ledger, Johnson County Community College, Overland
Park, Kan.; and Cody Angell, Arizona Daily Wildcat, University
of Arizona, Tucson.
PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING - Over
100,000 circulation
The Baltimore Sun (Jim Haner, Kimberly
A.C. Wilson and John B. O'Donnell). The newspaper will
receive $5,000 and the Roy W. Howard Award trophy.
The
Baltimore Sun reporters won for their investigative series,
"Justice Undone," which exposed serious shortcomings in the
local criminal justice system through an examination of 1,449
homicides that had occurred over a five-year period. Judges
said, "It's an in-depth look at a system out of whack in a
city where murder is rampant." Finalists:
Michael J. Berens, Chicago Tribune; and Newsday.
PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING - Under 100,000
circulation
The Albuquerque Tribune. The
newspaper will receive $5,000 and the Roy W. Howard Award
trophy.
The Albuquerque Tribune won for its three-week
series, "The State of Our Children," which documented the
difficulties and challenges that confront children who live in
poverty in New Mexico. Judges said, "The newspaper's concept
was brilliant. The tone and intent were not to blame New
Mexico. Instead the series asked, 'How can we improve?'"
Finalists: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press;
and Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal.
Dedicated to
excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation is a
leader in industry efforts in journalism education,
scholarships, internships, literacy, minority
recruitment/development and First Amendment causes.
Contact: Patty Cottingham, Scripps Howard
Foundation, 513-977-3847, cottingham@scripps.com