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The Society of Environmental
Journalists announced winners and
finalists in its 2nd annual Awards for
Reporting on the Environment on
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003, at the
society's annual conference in New
Orleans, Louisiana.
Judges praised the 224 entries
by reporters from throughout North
America for their skill and imagination
in treating a broad range of complex,
often controversial environmental topics.
Award-winners in nine categories of
print, broadcast and online journalism
covered subjects ranging from salmon
farming to snowmobiling and scientific
abuses in agribusiness. Their geographic
span stretched from Florida's Everglades
to Washington's Puget Sound, from Canada
to Peru.
"What's astounded me in
judging this category for two years has
been the amount of great work going on at
a really wide range of publications,''
remarked Randy Lee Loftis, veteran
environmental reporter for The Dallas
Morning News and chairman of the
panel that judged in-depth print
reporting. The outstanding series he read
from many small- and medium-circulation
publications, he added, are "putting the
lie to the notion that nobody's
interested in quality anymore." Other
judges lauded various broadcast and
online winners as "remarkable,"
"exemplary" and the "gold standard for
serious reporters on the environmental
beat."
Winning entries chosen by
independent judging panels received
$1,000 and a trophy, while second- and
third-place finishers received framed
certificates. In all, 23 entries
involving at least 33 journalists were
honored for outstanding beat and in-depth
reporting in print, radio and television,
as well as for the best work online and
in small media markets.
Stories in the contest had to
be published or aired between March 1,
2002, and Feb. 28, 2003.
Founded in 1990, SEJ is a lively network of journalists and academics, with more than 1,300 members in the United States, Canada and 32 other countries. Run by and for working journalists, SEJ seeks to advance public understanding of environmental issues by improving the quality, accuracy, and visibility of environmental reporting. In addition to SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment, SEJ programs and services include annual and regional conferences; daily EJToday news service; quarterly SEJournal; biweekly TipSheet; freedom of information WatchDog Project; diversity program including Latin America initiative; members-only listservs; mentoring program; gatekeeper project and other special initiatives.
Judges for the contest were
selected by an Awards Committee appointed
by SEJ's board of directors. To
avoid any conflicts of interest,
committee members were barred from
entering, while judges were not allowed
to review any categories in which they
had entered.
The judges included: Charles
Alexander, recently retired environment
editor, TIME magazine; Rachel
Ambrose, AP Radio; Eric Anderson, KPBS
News; Emilia Askari, Detroit Free
Press; Robert Braile, Institutes for
Journalism and Natural Resources; Robert
Calo, Graduate School of Journalism,
University of California; Sharon Collins,
CNN Headline News; John Dinges, School of
Broadcast Journalism, Columbia
University; Jeffrey Dvorkin, National
Public Radio; Peter Dykstra, CNN; Paul
Glickman, KPCC News; Marguerite Holloway,
Scientific American; Marley
Klaus, KQED; Liz Lempert, Living on
Earth; Randy Lee Loftis, Dallas
Morning News; Peter Lundquist,
Gannett Newspaper Division; Betsy
Marston, High Country News;
Vince Patton, KGW-TV; Deborah Potter,
NewsLab; David Poulson, Knight Center for
Environmental Journalism, Michigan State
University; Chuck Quirmbach, Wisconsin
Public Radio; Jacques Rivard, Canadian
Broadcasting Co.; Raequel Roberts,
Houston Chronicle; Steve Ross,
Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism; Deborah Schoch, Los
Angeles Times; Al Tompkins, The
Poynter Institute; and Jim Van Nostrand,
Knight Ridder Newspapers.
SEJ's Awards Committee selects
the judges and sets the rules for the
contest each year in close consultation
with the society's board of directors.
The committee's co-chairs are Natalie
Pawelski, CNN and Tim Wheeler, now on
leave from The Baltimore Sun.
Other panel members were: Dina Cappiello,
Houston Chronicle; George Homsy,
freelance from Canandaigna, NY; Mike
Mansur, Kansas City Star; Tom
Meersman, Minneapolis
Star-Tribune; and Ilsa Setziol,
KPCC-FM, Pasadena, CA.
And the
winners are...
Outstanding Beat
Reporting — Print
Outstanding Beat
Reporting — Radio
Outstanding Beat Reporting
— TV
Outstanding In-Depth
Reporting — Print
Outstanding In-Depth
Reporting — Radio
Outstanding In-Depth
Reporting — TV
Outstanding Online
Reporting
Outstanding
Small-Market Reporting —
Broadcast
Outstanding Small-Market
Reporting — Print
Outstanding
Beat Reporting —
Print
1st:
Perry Beeman
The Des Moines
Register, Iowa
A Selection of Work
Judges' comments:
Perry Beeman is a journalistic watchdog
whose bite is as fearsome as his bark. In
his enterprising and thorough
investigative reports for The Des
Moines Register, Beeman had the
courage, and strong support from his
editors, to take on both the Iowa state
government (for underfunding
environmental regulation and for leaving
open beaches where bacterial
contamination in the water exceeds
federal guidelines) and the state's most
prominent industry, agribusiness, (for
trying to suppress scientific research
critical of the industry and for the
overuse of antibiotics that leads to the
development of resistant "superbugs"). In
particular, Beeman's probe of how
agribusiness and its allies in government
try to control the release of scientific
research was a groundbreaking examination
of an underreported national
trend.
2nd:
Elizabeth Shogren
Los Angeles
Times
Bush Administration Environmental
Footprints
Judges' comments:
Enterprising and energetic enough to go
where the action is, Elizabeth Shogren
showed would-be national environment
reporters how to do the job. From the
mountaintops of West Virginia decapitated
by coal miners to the ranches of Wyoming
pock-marked by natural-gas wells to the
corridors of Washington where policies
are set, Shogren was on the scene to
illuminate the impact that the Bush
Administration has had on the
environment. With perceptive writing and
on-the-ground interviews with people on
both sides of the issues, she was
particularly adept at displaying the
human dimensions of environmental
debates.
3rd:
Ray Ring
High Country News
"Wolf at the Door" and other
stories
Judges' comments:
Equally at ease writing about wolves or
killer bees, about the fervor of
snowmobilers or the foibles of Arizona
governors, Ray Ring reported scenes so
vividly that readers felt taken along for
some fascinating rides. A chronicler this
skillful didn't have to moralize; he just
let the subjects speak for themselves.
His stories for High Country News had
depth and texture rarely matched by the
efforts of publications with much greater
resources.
Outstanding
Beat Reporting —
Radio
1st:
Cheryl Colopy
KQED-FM, San Francisco
"Coho Spawning" and other stories
Judges' comments:
Cheryl Colopy uses the medium to its
fullest, with crisp storytelling and
wonderful use of sound. She takes us to
the scene and finds compelling ways to
walk us through complex stories, from a
mini-documentary about the environmental
impact of salmon farming to a detective
tale about tracking down the source of a
mysterious oil leak.
2nd:
Jon Christensen
Nevada Public Radio
"Nevada Variations"
Judges' comments:
Anyone else would think it's just plain
quiet, but Jon uses radio to convey the
feeling of isolation in his series of
stories about the fragile environment of
remote Nevada points. He finds
interesting, eloquent people who have
stories to tell — from the ranger,
who from deep inside a stalactite-filled
cave, recites Mark Twain on geologic
time, to an older rancher who wants his
grandkids to know what it takes to be an
American — in his words: "to pee in
the desert and scratch
themselves."
3rd:
Karen Kelly
Ottawa Bureau, Great Lakes Radio
Consortium
"Environmental Spies" and other
stories
Judges' comments: In
addition to great storytelling and vivid
writing, Karen expertly employs humor in
her pieces. And she's not afraid to jump
into the action. She even mounts a bike
in sub-zero weather and pedals over ice
and snow to bring us the story of a
winter bike commuter.
Outstanding
Beat Reporting — TV
1st:
John Daley
KSL-TV, Salt Lake City,
UT
Environmental Stories
Judges' comments:
John Daley's reporting demonstrates both
effort and enterprise. He's willing to
take on complex issues and gives them
balanced coverage. These stories cover a
range of topics, some rarely tackled on
local television. Daley makes them
understandable and visually
interesting.
2nd:
Vince Patton
KGW-TV, Portland, OR
Patton Portfolio
Judges' comments:
Vince Patton manages to enliven what
could be dry material with his
storytelling approach. He covers diverse
topics with different techniques, and
finds ways of making stories visual and
engaging.
3rd:
No third place winner.
Outstanding
In-Depth Reporting —
Print
1st:
Michael Grunwald
The Washington Post
"The Swamp"
Judges' comments:
Michael Grunwald's series on the
politically imperiled state-federal
rescue plan for the Everglades is
painstakingly reported and written with
great authority. It presents the stark
realities facing the River of Grass,
offered as an urgent warning to other
regions, such as the Great Lakes, that
might be looking to the 'Glades as a
model of successful restoration, and
illustrates how vested interests can
hijack just about anything.
2nd:
Ben Raines and Bill
Finch
Mobile Register
"Mercury Taints
Seafood"
Judges' comments: Ben
Raines and Bill Finch raise a disturbing
angle in the concerns about mercury
contamination by examining the role of
offshore oil rigs. In convincing detail,
they analyze the flawed official
decision-making that has allowed the
contamination to continue, as well as the
flawed science behind those decisions.
The implications — measured in the
ubiquitous oil rigs that dot the world's
oceans and in the mercury levels in
seafood — are global in
scope.
3rd:
Robert McClure, Lisa
Stiffler, Lise Olsen and Paul
Joseph Brown
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Our Troubled
Sound"
Judges' comments:
Unrelenting reporting and interviews with
colorful characters with the most at
stake reveal the threats to a body of
water that defines a region. This report
describes a troubled ecosystem beneath
the beauty of Puget Sound. The series not
only explains the sound's multiple
environmental threats, it examines local
restoration efforts and explores
solutions tried across the nation.
Outstanding
In-Depth Reporting —
Radio
1st:
Clay Scott
NPR's Living on Earth
"The Rivers
South"
Judges' comments:
"The Rivers South" is an excellent
example of a powerful audio voyage. It
takes the listener on a voyage through
two important and endangered waterways.
En route, the reporter and the listeners
meet inhabitants who convey their love
and concern for the future of the rivers.
This is a remarkable radio experience. As
listeners we arrive at the end of this
wonderful radio journey with a deeper
understanding and a stronger appreciation
of what we may lose.
2nd:
Bob McDonald, Jim
Handman and Pat Senson
CBC Radio, Quirks & Quarks
"The Science of Climate
Change"
Judges' comments: CBC
Radio continues its tradition of
providing listeners with an intelligent
primer on complex and compelling science
through crisp writing and solid radio
production values. The science of the
Kyoto Agreement has rarely been explained
so expertly and so accessibly.
3rd:
Robin White
NPR's Living on Earth
"Planetary
Protection"
Judges' comments:
"Planetary Protection" gives a sobering
view of what could happen if mankind
inadvertently contaminates other planets
through the course of scientific
exploration. Robin White sought out a
science project in the Canadian high
arctic where the implications of
introducing foreign life forms are being
tested. This is important and timely
science journalism.
Outstanding
In-Depth Reporting —
TV
1st:
Craig Cheatham, Mark
Hadler and Andrea Torrance
KMOV-TV, St. Louis, MO
"La Oroya, City of
Lead"
Judges' comments: All
three judges were impressed with the fact
that a station dedicated the time and
money to see how a local corporation does
business outside U.S. borders. Craig
Cheatham had already looked at this
company in his own backyard, but he took
the initiative to investigate its
behavior in a place without American
regulations and restrictions. Cheatham
makes the point that while U.S.
corporations may bring much needed jobs
to other countries, it often comes at a
heavy price in terms of health and
environment. Hats off to Cheatham, his
crew, and his station for looking beyond
the city limits for important
news.
2nd/3rd:
No 2nd or 3rd place winners in
this category.
Outstanding
Online Reporting
1st:
Peter Lane Taylor, Russell
Sparkman, Kevin Sparkman, Toby Malina
and Tim Gasperak
FusionSpark Media
"Florida's Springs —
Protecting Nature's Gems"
Judges' comments:
"Maximum exposure production." The judges
thought the Florida Springs project
deserved top recognition because it
presented sound explanatory journalism
and, importantly, took full advantage of
the online medium. This entry, unlike
many others, met the high expectations
and sophistication of today's online
users. For example, its use of Flash
animations to explain how the water on
which Florida residents depend cycles
through the environment told the story in
a way that words alone could not. Its
deep, easy-to-navigate photo galleries
lent not only visual impact but
credibility as well — you could see
what the researchers saw. The
introductions to each dispatch also
provided a visual narrative, particularly
the intro to Dispatch 3, which captured
the whole story in an eye-opening way.
That divers exploring a primary
drinking-water aquifer could surface in a
sinkhole full of illegal waste compelled
one contest judge to keep clicking and
learn more. The package could have been
improved by more clearly setting the
context and impact up front in a summary
paragraph — "here's the problem,
and this is why you should care" —
but otherwise, it was a strong
package.
2nd:
Penny Loeb
"Flooding Southern West
Virginia"
Judges' comments:
Don't let the somewhat amateurish
execution of this project fool you.
"Flooding Southern West Virginia" is a
comprehensive examination of several
recent floods in West Virginia and the
underlying environmental causes. The site
uses galleries, videos, and links to
original source material to present the
full picture. It included a survey of the
regulatory issues as well as solid
on-site reporting. Well done.
3rd:
No 3rd place winner.
Outstanding
Small-Market Reporting —
Broadcast
1st:
Sarah Bennett
KOZK-TV, Springfield,
MO
"Baldwin Park"
Judges' comments:
Sarah Bennett stitched together a complex
and complete story about how a town built
a community park over what was once an
illegal landfill. The landfill was
contaminated with toxins. Exhaustive
research revealed that years before, the
park site was actually a zinc and lead
mine and later was used as an illegal
dioxin dump. The State of Missouri dumped
a foot and a half of dirt and sand on the
site and figured the land was
safe.
As time passed, regional EPA
inspectors lost track of the toxic
history of the park and nobody checked to
see if the 18 inches of "cap" was still
in place. The main question Sarah raised
was, "Why was a toxic dump turned into a
park in the first place?"
The judges were impressed that
Sarah worked alone on this project. She
did her own research, reporting,
photography and production. Despite these
constraints she produced a seven-minute
documentary that is rock solid
journalism.
2nd:
Bob Segall
WITI-TV, Milwaukee,
WI
"DNR Breakdown"
Judges' comments: Bob
Segall pounded away at the Wisconsin
State regulators who time after time
bobbled investigations for so long that
federal authorities had to move in to
take over cases the state should have
handled. Because the investigations
dragged, evidence was lost and some cases
simply "disappeared" from files. In some
cases, former Department of Natural
Resources employees had kept second
copies of the missing files which showed
that often the violations that had not
been prosecuted were significant.
3rd:
Carolyn Johnsen
Nebraska Public Radio
"Birds or Barges?" and other
stories
Judges' comments:
Carolyn Johnsen's wide body of work is a
gold standard for serious reporters on
the environment beat. Her broad contacts
enable her to cover even daily stories
with depth and clarity. She is not
intimidated by the strong farm lobby in
Nebraska and reports forthrightly on
issues such as ethanol pollution and
water quality which is in peril, in part
from corporate farms.
Outstanding
Small-Market Reporting —
Print
1st:
Eric Frankowski and
Bruce Plasket
Longmont (CO)
Daily Times Call
"Critical Mass"
Judges' comments: An
exemplary environmental investigative
series on nuclear contamination, an issue
of national significance, marked by a
sophisticated weave of technological,
scientific, economic, business,
regulatory, legal, and ecological
reporting. It is tightly focused,
elegantly lucid writing that illuminated
rather than fell prey to complexity; and
by a human touch.
2nd:
Ray Ring
High Country News
"Wolf at the Door" and other
stories
Judges' comments:
With an informative and entertaining
style, writer Ray Ring illustrates the
difficult — sometimes heartbreaking
— choices that must be made as
human development continues to encroach
on wildlife. As he so beautifully shows
in his articles, there are no simple
solutions for improving our uncertain
existence with Mother Nature. Ultimately,
though, we are the ones who hold the
answers to success.
3rd:
Lila Guterman
The Chronicle of Higher
Education
"New Frontiers in Environmental
Research"
Judges' comments:
Third place in the category of
Outstanding Small Market Reporting, Print
goes to Lila Guterman, whose audience at
The Chronicle of Higher
Education is faculty members and
academic administrators. An elegant
writer, she does extensive research
coupled with on-the-ground reporting, and
the result is vivid stories about our
often lethal impact on wildlife.
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