News Releases

The awards, open to all U.S. news organizations and college journalism educators, recognize excellence in 17 categories, including editorial writing, human interest writing, environment, investigative, business/economics, Washington and public service reporting, commentary, photojournalism, radio and television reporting, Web reporting, college cartooning, editorial cartooning and journalism education.

The awards also honor distinguished service to the First Amendment.

Cash awards totaling $195,000 will be presented April 15 during a dinner at the National Press Club inWashington, D.C.

“Scripps Howard Foundation presents the National Journalism Awards to celebrate and honor excellent work by America’s media and the part journalists play in a free and democratic society,” said Judith G. Clabes, Foundation president and chief executive officer. “The journalists and educators we recognize have achieved the highest levels of dedication and professionalism. Their work makes a difference for each and every one of us.”

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, “As a diversified media company with roots firmly planted in a tradition of journalistic excellence and integrity, we take great pride in the National Journalism Awards. The standard of excellence represented by these winners is impressive indeed.”

The National Journalism Award winners are:

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Los Angeles Times receives the $25,000 Ursula and Gilbert Farfel prize, given in cooperation with the Ohio University College of Communication and the Farfel endowment.

The Los Angeles Times’ team of reporters (Tracy Weber, Charles Ornstein, Mitchell Landsberg and Steve Hymon) spent a year investigating the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center after continuing problems there. They discovered the medical center was even worse than feared. The five-part series revealed not just a series of isolated tragedies – patients dying and injured by neglect and mis-diagnosis – but a pattern of bad medicine endemic to the hospital. And, contrary to public opinion, it was not under-funded. Thanks to the Times’ reporting, elected officials who had failed their community time and again finally engaged an outside turnaround team to restructure the hospital’s operations and a host of state and federal regulators are demanding that safety procedures be enforced. Finalists: Walt Bogdanich, The New York Times, and The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee (John Hill and Dorothy Korber).

PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING

The Hartford Courant receives $10,000 and the Roy W. Howard award.

The Courant’s persistent reporting on Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland’s ethical lapses brought his administration to an end when the governor resigned rather than face impeachment. Investigations of bid-rigging and personal gifts and favors from state contractors exposed Gov. Rowland’s corrupt administration. The Courant’s combination of investigative work, spot news and commentary add up to public service of the highest order. Finalists: The Dallas Morning News; The Charlotte Sun, Port Charlotte, Fla.; and Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers.

EDITORIAL WRITING

Randy Bergmann, Asbury Park Press, Neptune, N. J. receives $10,000 and the Walker Stone award.

Bergmann won for a portfolio of hard-hitting editorials, primarily aimed at public officials’ corruption and arrogance. His campaign for good government helped raise public expectations of elected representatives and propelled ethics to the top of New Jersey’s public agenda. Finalists: Michael Kinsley, Los Angeles Times, and Robert A. Kittle, The San Diego Union-Tribune.

COMMENTARY

Connie Schultz, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, receives $10,000 and a trophy.

Connie Schultz’s commentary is distinguished by quality and craftsmanship. She combines great skill as a writer with a sense of enterprise – and a healthy sense of outrage. She is a voice of the underdog and a powerful voice for her readers. Finalist: Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times.

HUMAN INTEREST WRITING

Davan Maharaj, Los Angeles Times, receives $10,000 and the Ernie Pyle award.

Maharaj won for his poignant series, “Living on Pennies,” about the hard, everyday lives of people in sub-Saharan Africa. Brilliantly conceived and powerfully written, his series brings to life the economic plight of a huge percentage of the human race. Finalists: Ellen Gamerman, The Baltimore Sun, and Robin Gaby Fisher, The Star-Ledger, Newark, N. J.  

WEB REPORTING

DallasNews.com receives $10,000 and a trophy.

For an extraordinary story only the Web could have told, DallasNews.com explains how a home-town gymnast, Carly Patterson, parlayed her signature – and dangerous – balance beam dismount, the “Double Arabian,” to an Olympic gold medal in Athens. Now called, “the Patterson” the difficult move is examined in detail at DallasNews.com/carly. Finalist: Commercialappeal.com, Memphis, Tenn.

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

The Sun, San Bernardino, Calif., which receives $10,000 and the Edward J. Meeman award.

“Unnatural Disasters” tells the amazing story of how arrogance and ignorance are jeopardizing lives in the foothills and mountains above San Bernardino. In a year-long investigation, The Sun revealed environmental threats directly related to political opportunism and the American belief in property rights, despite the hazards. Land mismanagement and unheeded warnings about growing wildfire and flood dangers continue to threaten San Bernardino. Finalists: The Sacramento Bee (Tom Knudson, Edie Lau and Mike Lee); The Denver Post (Michael Riley and Greg Griffin); and Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times.

WASHINGTON REPORTING

Greg Jaffe, The Wall Street Journal, receives $10,000 and the Raymond Clapper award.

Greg Jaffe’s reporting from Iraq put into human terms the story of American soldiers fighting a guerrilla-style insurgency with weapons and sometimes tactics designed for a bygone era. He writes with the soldier in mind. The stories helped push the military to better equip the troops. Finalists: Andrew Martin, Chicago Tribune; David Willman, Los Angeles Times; and The Washington Post.

EDITORIAL CARTOONING

Steve Sack, Star Tribune, Minneapolis, receives $10,000 and a trophy.

With fearless and original cartoons, Steve Sack delivers sharp points with visual economy and freshness. His tell-it-like-it-is observations strike at the funny bone while sending strong, clear messages that provoke thought on the important issues of the day. Finalists: Tim Menees, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Ed Stein, Rocky Mountain News.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE FIRST AMENDMENT

The Dallas Morning News receives $10,000 and the Edward Willis Scripps award.

“Let the Sun Shine” was an aggressive campaign beating the drum for recorded votes in the Texas legislature. A series of editorials, supplemented by cartoons, letters to the editor and candidate endorsements, The Dallas Morning News’ campaign made mandating public votes a top legislative priority, redressing the egregious wrong that allowed legislators to dodge public scrutiny and accountability by voting on issues without recording those votes. Finalists: The Detroit News (David Shepardson, Norman Sinclair and Ronald J. Hansen), and Steve Coll, The Washington Post.

PHOTOJOURNALISM

Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune, Minneapolis, wins $10,000 and a trophy.

A story-teller with a camera, Jim Gehrz’s sensitive lens captured a range of inspiring work that ran the full gamut – strong single photos, strong features packages, and a nice narrative story about a female soldier and her personal battle to heal and remember after a near-fatal injury in a roadside bombing in Iraq. Finalist: Rick Loomis, Los Angeles Times.

BUSINESS/ECONOMICS REPORTING

The Wall Street Journal receives $10,000 and the William Brewster Styles award.

Reporters Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis conducted a complicated and difficult analysis of companies’ claims that retiree medical benefits were a crippling burden. The Wall Street Journal discovered the opposite – that obscure accounting practices allow companies to improve their bottom lines at the expense of retirees’ health-care benefits, misleading the public and their retirees. Some even profit by billions of dollars. Finalists: Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune, Minneapolis; The Seattle Times (Alwyn Scott, Brier Dudley and Jake Batsell); and Michael Oneal, Chicago Tribune.

EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA/RADIO

Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ, “This American Life,” which receives $10,000 and the Jack R. Howard award.

Reporter Nancy Updike tells the story of war and of America that has not been told anywhere else. Her riveting account reveals that private contractors are part of the Iraq war in unprecedented numbers. More than 20,000 civilians are working there, doing the work the military once did. Some contractors are driven by patriotism and some by the need or desire for a high paying if risky job. More of them have died than any of the U.S. allies’ soldiers. Finalists: Minnesota Public Radio (Brandt Williams), and National Public Radio/Radio Diaries (Joe Richman).

EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA/TV-CABLE

CNBC receives $10,000 and the Jack R. Howard award.

“The Age of Wal-Mart: Inside America’s Most Powerful Company” is an honest, frank and pointed documentary that gets inside the world’s largest store – a store so large that multi-billion dollar corporations can go bankrupt if Wal-Mart decides to stop doing business with them. The program takes viewers from tiny Bentonville, Ark., to a small town in China. Only three countries and all of Europe combined do more business with China than Wal-Mart does. Finalists: Dateline NBC, and California Connected, Los Angeles (Marley Klaus).

COLLEGE CARTOONING

Nathaniel R. Creekmore, The Babbler, Lipscomb University, Nashville, Tenn. will receive $10,000 and the Charles M. Schulz award.

For the second consecutive year, Nathaniel R. Creekmore receives the Schulz award for his comic strip, “Maintaining.” The judges described Creekmore as an emerging young talent who “speaks in his own voice” about racial and ethnic identity, friendship between “a couple of guys,” and stereotypes. He deals with sensitive subjects with humor and a frank, refreshing openness. Finalists: Andy Marlette, University of Florida; Savann James Mok, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and Terrence L. Nowicki Jr., Western Washington University.

JOURNALISM TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Sandra F. Chance, University of Florida, will receive $10,000 and the Charles E. Scripps award. Her school will also receive a $5,000 grant. The award is given in cooperation with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Knight Foundation and the Freedom Forum.

Sandra F. Chance is a 25-year journalism educator and executive director of the University of Florida’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information. A gifted and popular teacher, she teaches media law and is an unflagging advocate of the public’s right to know.  She produces a monthly newsletter on access and First Amendment issues, supervises a Web site on Freedom of Information and open government resources, and is extensively published and widely-honored for her teaching and advocacy. Finalist: James Highland, Western Kentucky University.

JOURNALISM ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR

Will Norton Jr., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will receive $10,000 and the Charles E. Scripps award. His school will also receive a $5,000 grant. The award is given in cooperation with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Knight Foundation and the Freedom Forum.