The Education Writers Association (EWA), the national professional association of education reporters and writers, today announced the winners of the 2001 National Awards for Education Reporting, the prestigious national competition for education writing. The annual contest honors the best education reporting in the print and broadcast media and is the only independent contest of its kind in the United States. Contest entries were limited to stories published or broadcast for the first time during the 2001 calendar year.
A total of 428 entries were judged in this year's contest. First place winners receive a cash prize of $250 and a plaque. Winners of second prizes and special citations each receive a certificate. The Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting, which includes an award of $1,000 and a plaque, will be presented to the best of the first-place winners. All prizes, including the announcement of the Grand Prize, are given at the awards banquet April 27 at 6:30 p.m. during the Education Writers Association's 55th National Seminar, April 25-27, 2002, at the Wyndham City Center Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Contest judging was conducted independently, under the direction of Chief Judge Chris Harvey of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland. This year's panel of distinguished judges included: Steve Barkin, associate professor, Merrill College of Journalism; Alice Bonner, assistant professor, Merrill College of Journalism; Carol Guensburg, director, Journalism Fellowships in Child and Family Policy; Haynes Johnson, professor and Knight Chair, Merrill College of Journalism; Phyllis Jordan, education editor, Washington Post Maryland Desk; Sue Kopen Katcef, broadcast lecturer, Merrill College of Journalism; Rafael Lorente, reporter, South Florida Sun- Sentinel's Washington bureau; Carla McCoy, yearbook advisor and English teacher, Edmondson Westside High School in Baltimore; Tim McDonough, director of public affairs, American Council on Education; Deborah Potter, executive director, NewsLab; and Frank Quine, assistant dean, Merrill College of Journalism.
Recent winners of the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting include Ken Weiss, Los Angeles Times; Tim Simmons, Raleigh News & Observer; Deb Kollars, Sacramento Bee; and Jacques Steinberg, The New York Times.
Breaking News, Newspapers under 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Robbie Evans, Emeri O'Brien, Mark Rainwater, Seth Parsons,
Nicholas Cole, Heather Wecsler - The News-Star, Monroe, La.-
"School Violence Strikes Home"
2nd Prize Dan De Carbonel, Alex Davis, Stefanie Knowlton, Dana Haynes,
Tara McLain, Peter Wong - Statesman Journal, Salem, Oreg.-
"Bus, Truck Collide: 3 Still Hospitalized"
Special Eric Eyre - Charleston (W.V.) Gazette-Mail - "Student
Citation Suspended for T-Shirts Opposing the Bombing of
Afghanistan"
Feature, Newspapers under 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Mary Wiltenburg and Andy Nelson - The Christian Science
Monitor - "Acting With Conviction"
2nd Prize Emily Bliss - New Times Broward-Palm Beach - "A Scout for
Life"
Special Deirdre Newman - Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, Calif. - "In the
Citations Classroom"; Jennifer Rose Marino - Savannah Morning News -
"No Excuses"
News Feature or Issue Package, Newspapers under 100,000 circulation
1st Prize Eric Fry - The Juneau Empire - "Mario Joins Columbus in
History"
2nd Prize Jane Rider - The Missoulian, Missoula, Mont. - "Breaking the
Silence"
Special Eric Eyre - Charleston (W.V.) Gazette-Mail - "Talent Ignored:
Citation School System's Gifted Program Shuts Out African-American
Students"
Series or Group of Articles, Newspapers under 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Kristen King - The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. - "Special
Education or Special Problems: Disabled or Labeled?"
2nd Prize Renee Moilanen - Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif. - "Keys to
Success"
Special Mary Beth Pfeiffer - Poughkeepsie Journal, N.Y. - "Just Say
Citation Yes? Children and Ritalin"
Investigative Reporting, Newspapers under 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Nigel Jaquiss - Willamette Week, Portland, Oreg. - "The
Poisoning of Whitaker"
2nd Prize Eric Eyre - Charleston (W.V.) Gazette-Mail - "Students Flock
to the Movies on School Time"
Opinion, Newspapers under 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize D. Reed Eckhardt and Scott Smith - Wyoming Tribune-Eagle,
Cheyenne, Wyo. - "School Accountability"
2nd Prize Jeff Ballinger - The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. -
"Columns on School Violence"
Special John P. Young - Waco Tribune-Herald, Tex. - "Schools
Citation Suffering EDD"
Special Section or Page under 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Jennifer Rose Marino and Mary Carr Mayle - Savannah Morning
News - "Vision 2010"
2nd Prize Diane D'Amico - The Press of Atlantic City - "20 Years of
Abbott vs. Burke"
Special Betsy Bethel, Linda Comins, Jennifer Compston, Kathy Fuller,
Citation Bonnie Ritz, Phyllis Sigal, Roger Warren, Heather Ziegler -
The Intelligencer, Wheeling, W.V. - "Topics: Education"
Breaking News, Newspapers over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Kate Coscarelli, Ivelisse DeJesus, Sue Epstein, Tom Feeney,
David Gibson, Kelly Heyboer, Patrick Jenkins, John P. Martin,
Bev McCarron, John Mooney, Mary Jo Patterson, Michael Wattkis
- The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J. - " Middletown Strike"
2nd Prize Susan Snyder, Dale Mezzacappa, James M. O'Neill, Frederick
Cusick, Ovetta Wiggins, Amy Worden - Philadelphia Inquirer -
"Edison School Takeover"
Feature, Newspapers over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Kent Fischer - St.Petersburg Times - "Teaching Chelsea How to
Read"
2nd Prize Ken Weiss - Los Angeles Times - "Eggs Buy a College
Education"
Special Mike Mosedale, City Pages, Minneapolis, Minn. - "Take Till it
Citation Hurts"
News Feature Package, Newspapers over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Kathleen Chapman and William M. Hartnett - The Palm Beach
Post
- "FCAT More a Measure of Wealth Than Performance"
2nd Prize Deb Kollars - The Sacramento Bee - "On Their Own"
Special Steven Carter and Janie Har -- The Oregonian (Portland) -
Citations "A Detour Before the Degree"
Erik Lords - Detroit Free Press - "Blazes Ignite Worries in
Dorms"
Series, Newspapers over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Abby Goodnough - The New York Times - "Ms. Moffett's First
Year"
2nd Prize Betsy Hammond, Noelle Crombie, Jim Tankersley, Clifton
Chestnut, Michael Ottey, Laura Gunderson, Holley Gilbert,
Henry Stern, Paige Parker, Maya Blackmun, Christopher
Broderick, Kay
Balmer, Lynne Terry, Dan Aguayo -- The Oregonian, (Portland)
- "Why Not the Best"
Special Brigid Schulte and Dan Keating -- The Washington Post --
Citations "A Growing Divide"
Tim Simmons and Susan Ebbs - The News & Observer, Raleigh,
N.C. - "The New Segregation"
Investigative Reporting, Newspapers over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Patrick Healy -- The Boston Globe --
"Harvard's Quiet Secret: Rampant Grade Inflation"
2nd Prize Becky Beaupre, Kate N. Grossman, Rosalind Rossi --
The Chicago Sun-Times - "Failing Teachers"
Special Ray Rivera -- The Seattle Times -- "Boy Paid to Disappear"
Citations Jacques Steinberg and Diana B. Henriques - The New York Times
- "None of the Above"
Opinion, Newspapers over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Margaret Downing -- Houston Press -- "But Who's Counting"
2nd Prize Tim A. Chavez -- The Tennessean (Nashville) -- "Staying the
Course: How Nashville's Immigrant Children
Finally Won Respect and Resources for a Fair Education"
Special Section or Page over 100,000 Circulation
1st Prize Jennifer Rothacker and Celeste Smith - Charlotte Observer -
"School Reassignment: Finding the Right School for Your
Child"
2nd Prize Maria Sacchetti, Keith Sharon, Sarah Tully Tapia - The Orange
County Register, Calif. - "Primer for Parents"
National Magazine
1st Prize William C. Symonds, Ann Therese Palmer, Hilary Hylton -
BusinessWeek - "How to Fix American Schools"
2nd Prize John Cloud and Jodie Morse - TIME Magazine -
"Home Sweet School"
Special Barbara Kantrowitz - Newsweek - "The Kids Who Saw It All"
Citation
Regional/Local Magazine
1st Prize Mark Spencer - The Hartford Courant - "The Dream Factory"
2nd Prize Marc Fisher - The Washington Post - "Uncommon Knowledge"
Special Interest, Trade Publication
1st Prize Alexander Wohl -- American Educator -- "The School
Marketplace - Has Commercialization Gone Too Far?"
2nd Prize Kevin Bushweller -- Education Week/ Teacher Magazine -- "The
Return of Laura Marks"
Television - Hard News and Investigative
1st Prize Denise Eck, Chris Koeberl, Bernard Choi, Nickie Flynn - KWCH
12 Eyewitness News, Wichita, Kansas - "Unauthorized Spending"
2nd Prize Richard Reeve, Bill Ditton, Kathleen Johnston, Gerry Lanosga
- WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, In. - "Safe at School?"
Special Bernard Choi - KWCH-TV, Wichita, Kansas - "School Budget
Citation Breakdown"
Television-Documentary and Feature
1st Prize John Merrow and Donald Devet - The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,
PBS - "Making the Grade"
2nd Prize Jeff Hirsh and Jeff Barnhill - WKRC-TV - "East End Heritage"
Radio
1st Prize Kathryn Baron - KQED-FM, San Francisco, Calif. - "The Testing
of America: Education or Obsession"
2nd Prize Jody Becker - WBEZ, Chicago, Ill. - "The Big Idea: Students
with Autism Attend College Prep"
Special Ellin O'Leary - Youth Radio, Berkeley, Calif. - "Making the
Citation Grade"
EWA -- 2122 P Street, NW, Suite 201, Washington, DC 20037 (202) 452-9830
Fax (202) 452-9837 www.ewa.org
SOURCE: Education Writers Association
Contact: Lisa Walker, or Andrea Fieldhouse, both of EWA, +1-202-452-
9830, or