The nation's most lucrative award in journalism--bestowed for impartial excellence in news reporting--held its inaugural banquet at the Library of Congress in Washington a couple of weeks back.
If you missed the list of deserving winners of $25,000 each in the awards from the Center for Integrity in News Reporting, you're not going deaf or blind.
The Associated Press and the Washington Post were the only national media to attend and cover America's first and only annual award dedicated to fostering journalistic objectivity and integrity, which means devoid of agendas.
I've yet to see or hear a word about the historic journalism event published anywhere, even though some winners were from major markets.
Wonder why silence rather than celebration when so many media markets today claim to be objective? I know, a stupid question, Mike. Considering the nature of such an honor, media silence doesn't surprise me in today's world of partisan bias and activism.
Incidentally, the Pulitzer Prizes, administered by Columbia University, annually awards $15,000 each in about a dozen newspaper categories each spring, often perennially bestowed upon the same newspapers.
For the new honors, the Newspaper Association Managers appointed press association executive directors from New York, Kansas, Utah, Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas to serve as judges for this year's 102 Center for Integrity in News Reporting entries in the four categories of print, broadcast,cable TV and digital reporting.
Trustees of the center, the final arbiters of winning entries, accepted all entries recommended by the judges.
The trustees are Walter Hussman Jr. (Chairman of WEHCO Media and founder of the award based on the principles of his daily mission statement in this newspaper); journalism educator, Pulitzer-winning editor and and national journalism leader Charles Overby; and Eliza Gaines, former executive editor of the Hot Springs Sentinel Record and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, now publisher of 11 daily and eight weekly WEHCO Media newspapers across four states.
In accepting the winners and finalists, the trustees wrote a letter for the program explaining that this honor was created specifically to address a growing and serious national problem, "the public's loss of trust in news reporting," as documented by the Gallup poll.
During the 1970s, Gallup found some 70 percent of Americans had a great deal or fair amount of trust in the mass media such as newspapers, television and radio. Last year, however, after five decades, Gallup noted trust is down to less than a third among Americans. "The lack of trust in news reporting is a serious problem. ... We think the best place to start is within the profession itself," the trustees wrote.
"The center hopes to return to the time-tested values of news reporting that have earned the trust of readers, listeners and viewers. We want to encourage and reward those values. Beginning with these awards, we are rewarding the best examples of impartial, objective and fair news reporting in America in 2023."
The trustees continued: "Some say the fault is with the public who consume only the news they want to consume from different sides. Some say the fault is a highly polarized country. Some blame the media itself. But the mission of the center is not to attribute blame but to find solutions to improve the public trust in news reporting."
Winners of the 2023 honors were Print Reporting: Paul Pringle of the Los Angeles Times in the print reporting category for his enterprise series in the public interest, "Scandal in the Station House: 'No One Gets Fired by the L.A. Fire Department.'" Print finalists were Molly Parker and Beth Hundsdorfer of the Illinois Capitol News for an investigation into the state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois, and Ashley Luthern of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for her investigation into domestic violence deaths in Milwaukee County and the tolls they left.
There were no entries in the broadcast news category.
In the cable news reporting category, six reporters--Blake Ellis, Pamela Brown, Melanie Hickman, Curt Devine, Audrey Ash and Curt Bronstein of CNN--won for their investigation into a series of sexual assault cover-ups at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Bret Baier of Fox News was the Keynote Speaker for the banquet as well as a finalist in the cable category for his presentation on the annual bipartisan event between congressional representatives that raises nearly $2 million annually for Washington, D.C., charities. David Scott and Josh Fine of HBO's "Real Sports" and their report on the Swiss government's hands-off approach to dozens of sports federations who've chosen to make their headquarters there and the resulting allegations of rampant corruption also were finalists.
Rose Hoban of North Carolina Health News was honored as winner of the digital reporting category with her in-depth report, "What is Blue Cross Blue Shield NC Up To?' Finalists in the category were Chris Fulton of the Mountain Home (Ark.) Observer for his insights into illegal communications between elected school board members, along with six Texas journalists at Public Health Watch for their investigation of two decades of the state ignoring high levels of cancer-causing benzene in a Channelview, Texas.
As a dinosaur in a career that began in 1971, it does my heart good to see such a long-overdue and lucrative recognition presented to authentic journalists who do the right thing in reporting the news accurately, objectively and fairly. Doing so doesn't mean shying away from tackling controversial issues (as evidenced by the work of this year's honorees). Instead it means all sides in a story are heard in a fair and objective manner, thereby allowing readers, viewers and listeners to draw their own conclusions.
Or, in the wisdom of the late New York and Chattanooga Times publisher Adolph Ochs, "to give the news impartially, without fear or favor." A message echoed by famed writer and political commentator Walter Lippman who advised that journalists should pursue "as impartial an investigation of the facts as is humanly possible."
Also cited in the award's program was former Washington Post and Boston Globe editor Martin Baron, who reminded journalists, "We want objective judges. We want objective juries. We want doctors to be objective. We want scientists to be objective. Journalists should insist on it for ourselves as well."
The Center for Integrity in News Reporting has chosen to contribute significant resources to its mission to encourage reporters and restore traditional professionalism to information they provide to the people. Believe me, valued readers, Americans will only benefit from their admirable effort.
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.