Sidney Hillman Foundation Announces 2010 Prizes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2010
Contact:
Elissa Strauss
Sidney Hillman Foundation Announces 2010 Prizes for Exemplary Reporting on Social Justice Issues
Awards Ceremony May 26th in New York City
The Sidney Hillman Foundation will present its distinguished annual journalism prizes at the Times Center in Manhattan on May 26th. The Hillman Prizes are given in the categories of books, newspaper reporting, magazine reporting, broadcast, photography, and blogs. They honor work that fosters social and economic justice. The prizes have been awarded every year since 1950, when Murray Kempton, the great liberal columnist, was the very first winner.
This year’s winners are:
Book:
For an extraordinary portrait of a small town transformed by the production of methamphetamine:
Nick Reding
Methland, Bloomsbury
Newspaper
For being the first news organization to determine the true cost to the taxpayer of the Federal bailout of Wall Street:
Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry, Alison Fitzgerald & Craig Torres
“The Fight for Transparency” Bloomberg News
Magazine
For an in-depth investigation of the abusive conditions immigrant workers experience in many American dairies:
Rebecca Clarren
“The Dark Side of Dairies” High Country News
Broadcast
For uncovering how a backlog of crucial evidence is denying justice for tens of thousands of rape victims:
Maria Hinojosa
“Justice Delayed” NOW, PBS
Photojournalism
For an extraordinary commitment of resources to produce two remarkable features:
The Denver Post
“Below the Line: Childhood Poverty in Colorado”
Joe Amon, Hyoung Chang, Andy Cross,
Judy DeHaas, Reza Marvashti,
RJ Sangosti, & Craig F. Walker
AND
“Ian Fisher: American Soldier”
Craig F. Walker
Special Mention: Sarah L. Voisin
“In Mexico’s war on drugs, battle lines are drawn in chalk”
The Washington Post
Blog
For their authoritative, up-to-the minute coverage of healthcare reform:
Jonathan Cohn
“The Treatment” New Republic
AND
Ezra Klein
The Washington Post
Sol Stetin Award for Labor History
Dorothy Sue Cobble
Professor of History and Labor Studies,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
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Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has celebrated the legacy and vision of union pioneer and New Deal architect Sidney Hillman. As founder and president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, a predecessor union to Workers United, SEIU, and a founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Hillman is considered one of America’s greatest labor leaders. His tireless efforts to bring dignity and respect to working people left a lasting legacy for the American public.
The prizes honor journalists demonstrating a similar sense of social responsibility, who tell the difficult stories that need to be told. These writers and photographers seek out stories that change lives, even as support for serious journalism declines. Past winners include prominent figures in their field, as well as young journalists or publications that have yet to receive adequate recognition. Each winner receives $5,000 and a certificate designed by Edward Sorel and lettered by Seymour Chwast.
This year’s distinguished panel of judges consists of Hendrik Hertzberg, senior editor, The New Yorker; Harold Meyerson, editor-at-large, The American Prospect and columnist for the Washington Post; Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation magazine; Susan Meiselas, Magnum photographer; Rose Marie Arce, senior producer, CNN; and Charles Kaiser, Full Court Press, The Sidney Hillman Foundation.
“At the Hillman Foundation we believe that a healthy and vibrant press is a key component of the movement towards social justice and dignity for all. The winners are proof of the power of journalism and how it can change the world,” said Bruce Raynor, president of the foundation.
The award ceremony will be held May 26, 2010, 6:00-8:30 PM, at the Times Center, 242 West 41st Street, New York City.
For more information about the award ceremony, go here.
To find out about our monthly Sidney awards, go here.