National Journalism Award Winners Announced for 2001 Work

Posted on March 15, 2002

The Scripps Howard Foundation has announced the winners of its National Journalism Awards, a competition open to all news organizations in the United States honoring work done in 2001. The awards recognize excellence in 18 categories including editorial writing, human interest writing, environmental and public service reporting, business/economics reporting, commentary, photojournalism, electronic journalism, college cartooning, Internet reporting and editorial cartooning.

The awards also recognize distinguished service to literacy and the First Amendment. Cash awards totaling $52,500 will be presented April 12 during a banquet at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

"The National Journalism Awards were established to honor and encourage excellence in journalism," said Judith G. Clabes, president and chief executive officer of the Scripps Howard Foundation. "The winners of this year's competition represent the very best journalism has to offer."

Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief executive officer of The E.W. Scripps Company, said, "Each year, through the National Journalism Awards, we take time out to honor the accomplishments of America's best journalists. The level of excellence we saw this year reassures us that dedicated, hard-working journalists make a difference."

National Journalism Award Winners

EDITORIAL WRITING
Kate Stanley, Star Tribune, Minneapolis.
Stanley will receive $2,500 and the Walker Stone Award trophy.

Stanley won for her editorials on topics including concealed weapons legislation, homelessness, teen pregnancy prevention and mental health. Judges said, "Ms. Stanley is an engaging writer, not afraid to try different approaches to editorial writing."

Finalists: Martha Ezzard, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Saundra Torry, USA Today.

COMMENTARY
Leonard Pitts, The Miami Herald.
Pitts will receive $2,500 and a trophy.

Pitts won for a selection of his general interest columns, including a nationally acclaimed commentary on the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Judges said, "Pitts writes about it all in ways that can enlighten everyone."

Finalist: Nicole Brodeur, The Seattle Times.

HUMAN INTEREST WRITING
Ken Fuson, The Des Moines (Iowa) Register.
Fuson will receive $2,500 and the Ernie Pyle Award trophy.

Fuson won for a variety of human interest stories, including his account of a friendship between two elementary-aged school girls -- one from Iowa, the other a refugee from Sudan. Judges said, "Ken Fuson tells powerful, compelling stories that offer large glimpses into our humanity."

Finalists: Cameron Barr, The Christian Science Monitor; Jim Kenyon, Valley News, West Lebanon, N.H.

WEB REPORTING
USATODAY.com.
USATODAY.com will receive $2,500 and a trophy.

USATODAY.com won for a special report on the evacuation of the World Trade Center. Judges said, "It was not just vivid reporting that got the judges' attention. It was incredibly informative -- animated information graphics, slide shows of outstanding photojournalism, clips of emotionally moving audio, great video and more."

Finalists: Tampa Bay (Fla.) Online; The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
- Over 100,000 circulation
Julie Hauserman, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.
Hauserman will receive $2,500 and the Edward J. Meeman Award trophy.

Hauserman won for her special report, "Poison in Your Back Yard," which warned of arsenic contamination from the widespread use of pressure- treated wood. Judges said, "An outstanding job of original reporting and clear, compelling writing. This package ... had a profound impact on the community and led to significant changes."

Finalists: Ben Raines, Mobile (Ala.) Register; Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal (Margaret Newkirk, Bob Downing.)

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
- Under 100,000 circulation
Scott Streater, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal.
Streater will receive $2,500 and the Edward J. Meeman Award trophy.

Streater won for an investigative series of articles, "Hidden Hazard," that explored the link between high levels of toxic pollution to higher than average cancer rates in the Pensacola area. Judges said, "The reporting has great depth ... a totally first-rate journalistic effort."

Finalists: Hal Clifford, High Country News, Paonia, Colo.; Jean Hays, Wichita (Kan.) Eagle.

EDITORIAL CARTOONING
John Sherffius, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Sherffius will receive $2,500 and a trophy.

Sherffius won for a selection of cartoons commenting on a variety of issues, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Clinton pardons and the Republican's economic stimulus package. Judges said: "We were impressed with the range of his visual metaphors ... We felt this was the most consistently excellent portfolio in a very strong field."

Finalists: Clay Bennett, The Christian Science Monitor; Jim Borgman, The Cincinnati Enquirer.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO LITERACY
Paul Riede, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, N.Y.
Riede will receive $2,500, the Charles E. Scripps Award trophy and a $5,000 donation from the Scripps Howard Foundation to the literacy group of his choice.

Riede won for a series of articles, "Raising Readers," that took a serious look at the Syracuse community's commitment to teaching young children to read. Judges said, "Paul Riede's series moved his community to action. He made literacy everybody's issue and promoted an agenda to remedy the problem."

Finalist: Emory READ Literacy Program, Emory University, Atlanta.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE FIRST AMENDMENT
Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel.
The newspaper will receive $2,500 and the Edward Willis Scripps Award trophy.

The Sentinel won for its legal battle to gain access to autopsy photos following the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. Judges praised the Sentinel for a "head-on constitutional challenge to defend the public's right to know."

Finalist: The Miami Herald.

PHOTOJOURNALISM
Aristide Economopoulos, The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.
Economopoulos will receive $2,500 and a trophy.

Economopoulos won, in part, for his coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Referring to the Sept. 11 coverage, judges said, Economopoulos "takes us progressively deeper into the disaster. It was a remarkable effort under the worst imaginable circumstances."

Finalist: Alan Berner, The Seattle Times.

BUSINESS/ECONOMICS REPORTING
The Wall Street Journal. (Rebecca Smith, John Emshwiller).
The newspaper will receive $2,500 and the William Brewster Styles Award trophy.

Smith, Emshwiller and the Journal won for an investigative series exposing financial and accounting irregularities that led to the fall of Enron Corp. Judges said, "The (Enron) story didn't just burst on the scene. These two reporters were able to take complex financial information and write stories that readers could understand."

Finalists: Judy Thomas, The Kansas City (Mo.) Star; Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel (Tim Barker, Mary Shanklin.)

JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
- Small Market Radio
KOSU-FM, Stillwater, Okla.
The radio station will receive $2,500 and the Jack R. Howard Award trophy.

KOSU won for a series of reports on the fatal crash of an airplane carrying members of the Oklahoma State University basketball team and its program. Judges said, "From the first news of the crash to a moving memorial, the station kept the coverage professional and focused."

JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
- Large Market Radio
Latino USA, National Public Radio, Los Angeles.
Latino USA will receive $2,500 and the Jack R. Howard Award trophy.

Latino USA won for a series of stories on an industrial accident at a fruit-packing plant in Washington State. Judges said, "This project achieves the main goals of journalism: give voice to the voiceless; hold the powerful accountable." Finalist: WINS-AM (Infinity), New York, N.Y.

JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
- Small Market TV/Cable
KTUU-TV, Anchorage, Alaska.
KTUU will receive $2,500 and the Jack R. Howard Award trophy.

KTUU won for a series of stories describing the disparity between urban and rural school districts in Alaska. Judges said, "This piece fulfilled and delivered what it promised from the lead." Finalists: WVVA-TV, Bluefield, W.Va.; KPVI-TV, Pocatello, Idaho.

JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
- Large Market TV/Cable
WFLD-TV, Chicago.
WFLD will receive $2,500 and the Jack R. Howard Award trophy.

WFLD won for a special report, "The Experiment in Black and White," that used a reality television format to explore racial issues. Judges said, "With an innovative technique borrowed from popular television ... (WFLD) brought to light racial hot points so near the surface the revelations were both alarming and enlightening."

Finalists: WFAA-TV, Dallas; WCPO-TV, Cincinnati.

COLLEGE CARTOONING
Charles M. Schulz Award
Nate Beeler, The Eagle, American University, Washington, D.C.
Beeler will receive $2,500 and the Charles M. Schulz Award trophy.

Beeler won for a series of political cartoons commenting on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the economy, the anthrax scare and other national issues. Judges said, "Nate Beeler has a polished visual style with substantive content in his editorial cartoons. He has a thoughtful and intentional approach to his craft."

Finalist: Eric Devericks, Daily Barometer, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING
- Over 100,000 circulation
The Seattle Times (Duff Wilson, David Heath).
The Seattle Times will receive $2,500 and the Roy W. Howard Award trophy.

The Seattle Times won for its report, "Uninformed Consent," which exposed a cancer research center's decision to provide incomplete information to patients about the risks of a clinical trial. Judges said, "(The Seattle Times) produced ... a convincing, detailed, well-packaged investigation documenting powerful evidence of how greed distorted science, probably leading to more than a dozen premature deaths."

Finalists: The Dallas Morning News (Reese Dunklin, Brooks Egerton); The Washington Post (Sari Horwitz, Scott Higham, Sarah Cohen.)

PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING
- Under 100,000 circulation (Tie)
York (Pa.) Daily Record and The York (Pa.) Dispatch/Sunday News.
Each of the newspapers will receive $2,500 and the Roy W. Howard Award trophy.

The newspapers, in separate efforts, won for spurring a renewed investigation into the 1969 York race riot deaths of an African-American woman and a white police officer. Judges said, "These two small staffs dug out inconvenient facts, challenged powerful local officials and created a climate in which buried, difficult truths about York's past could be pursued and assessed."

Finalist: Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal.