NPF Announces 2011 Awards for Accomplishment

by Bob Meyers 0 comments

WASHINGTON: Chris Wallace, anchor of Fox News Sunday, has been selected to receive the 2011 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism for distinguished accomplishments over many years.

David Newhouse, editor of the Harrisburg Patriot-News, will receive the Benjamin C. Bradlee Award as Editor of the Year for breaking and continuing to cover the Penn State University sex abuse scandal.

Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller of the Wall Street Journal will receive the Feddie, given for work showing the impact of Washington rules and regulations outside the Beltway. In a series called, “Federal Offenses,” they showed how little-known laws can snare the unwary – such as the father and son who were arrested and fined for trying to find (but not finding) arrowheads on federal land.

The NPF awards are among the most prestigious in journalism. They will be presented at NPF’s 29th annual awards dinner, March 7, 2012.

Other major awards will be presented to:

• Bloomberg News reporters John Crewdson, Alison Fitzgerald, Jonathan D. Salant, Charles R. Babcock and Kristin Jensen, who will receive the Dirksen Award for Distinguished Coverage of Congress for an investigation of political attack ads funded by independent organizations whose contributions flowed below the radar of all monitoring agencies. The ads were often intended to defeat candidates rather than elect them.
• Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker will receive an Honorable Mention in the Dirksen print category for a detailed inside look at failed efforts between the Congress and the White House to produce climate change legislation.
• The Excellence in Online Journalism Award goes to iWatchnews.org, the online publication of the Center for Public Integrity, a website that effectively uses the capabilities of digital journalism in support of its investigative mission.
• Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, will receive the W.M. Kiplinger Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism; RCFP advocates for open access to government documents and defends reporters accused of law violations.
• David Welna of NPR will receive the Dirksen Award in the non-print category for his detailed and informative reports on the U.S. Congress.
• Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle will receive the Berryman Award as Cartoonist of the Year for spirited and caustic editorial cartoons.

The awards will be presented at the 29th annual NPF Awards Dinner, on March 7, 2012, at the Hilton Washington. An estimated 1,000 people from the policy, journalism and political communities attend the dinner. For information contact Kerry Buker at Kerry@nationalpress.org, 202-663-7282.