Entries are now being accepted for the Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability, administered by the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The Schneider Award, now in its third year, is the first journalism contest focused exclusively on disability coverage. The award is made possible by a grant from Katherine Schneider, a retired clinical psychologist who also supports the Schneider Family Book Awards operated by the American Library Association. The contest is open to print, broadcast and online entries, which must be published or aired between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015. The entry deadline is July 31, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. MST. The online application and additional information are available at http://ncdj.org/contest/. Prizes include a $5,000 award for the first-place winner, who also is invited to speak at the Cronkite School. The second-place winner receives a $1,500 award, and additional honorable mention awards of $500 may be given at the judges’ discretion. “An estimated one in five people in the U.S. have a disability,” said NCDJ Director Kristin Gilger, who also is the associate dean of the Cronkite School. “Too often, their stories get overlooked or are underreported by the media. The Schneider Award spotlights the tremendous work of journalist who are making a difference in covering people with disabilities.” Last year, Dan Barry of The New York Times won the Schneider Award along with colleagues Kassie Bracken and Nicole Bengiveno for “The ‘Boys’ in the Bunkhouse,” an in-depth multimedia story examining the lives of disabled men who worked in vile conditions for decades in an Iowa turkey plant. Barry discussed the story and accepted the Schneider Award during a November 2014 “Must See Mondays” lecture at the Cronkite School. Second place was awarded to Kyle Hopkins and Marc Lester of the Anchorage Daily News for “State of Intoxication – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,” which provides an intimate portrait of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. An honorable mention was awarded to Eric Adler of The Kansas City Star for “Denise’s Decision,” which chronicles the legal, medical and emotional ordeal of placing a loved one into long-term nursing care. Judges also gave special recognition to Cronkite student Peyton Gallovich and Melissa Yingst Huber of the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf for the Deaf and Hearing Network, a biweekly news broadcast that incorporates American Sign Language, spoken English and captions into each production.
NCDJ Opens Schneider Disability Reporting Contest
Sunday, June 14, 2015