CALL FOR ENTRIES for the 6th Annual Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize (2007)

WBUR and Boston University are pleased to announce this call for entries for the sixth annual Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. The Prize is an award of $5,000 given to a rising journalist in public radio. It honors a news story or segment of significance and quality, and celebrates the new generation of journalists in public radio. By sponsoring this award, WBUR hopes to inspire younger journalists to stretch the boundaries of the medium and to encourage journalists-in-training to choose public radio as a career path. We are guided by the vision and example of Daniel Schorr, who has given American journalism a lifetime of commitment through his insight, intelligence and integrity.

 The two most recent recipients of the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize have been Lourdes Garcia-Navarro (2006) and Ari Shapiro (2005). The winning entry submitted by Garcia-Navarro, a foreign correspondent for NPR in Mexico City , was a two-part series entitled "Migrants' Job Search Empties Mexican Community ." It focused on the increasingly negative impact of migration on the provincial Mexican capitol of Malinalco. The winning entry of Ari Shapiro, a NPR reporter, in 2005 was “The Impact of Methamphetamine Use on the Gay Community.” His report focused on connections between methamphetamine abuse and rates of HIV infection in the gay community.

WBUR has established these general guidelines for the Prize:

• The journalist awarded the Prize must be 35 years of age or younger as of June 30, 2007 .

• A journalist seeking the Prize may offer only one submission for consideration.

• Group applications are not permitted; a single journalist must be principally responsible for the work submitted.

• Works must have been broadcast on any CPB-qualified radio station in the U.S. between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007 .

• Each entry must be accompanied by an Application Form and a Broadcast Certification Form signed by a General Manager, Program Director, News Director or Editor of a CPB-qualified radio station, network or program producer, attesting a) to the date of broadcast and b) that the work is certified to be substantially that of the nominee. (Click here to download a pdf of the application forms.)

• All entries must be received on or before Friday, September 14, 2007 .

Please include, if possible, a photograph of the reporter/producer who is entering the competition, plus any news photos that may have been used to illustrate the entered story on the station's website or program guide.

A panel of distinguished journalists will judge the Schorr Prize in 2007. This year's judges are:

• Larry Grossman, Senior Judge , former President, NBC News and PBS
• Fred Bayles, Associate Professor of Journalism, Boston University
• Emily Hanford, Senior Editor, "North Carolina Voices”
• Michael Marcotte, News Director, KPBS Radio and Television
• Celeste Wesson, Senior Producer, “Marketplace” 

See the following Criteria for additional information.

Criteria for The Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize

•  The work honored contributes to the radio audience's understanding of a significant issue; shows creativity and initiative; demonstrates state-of-the-art production values; and adheres scrupulously to the highest standards of broadcast journalism, including clarity of expression, accuracy, fairness and seriousness of purpose.

•  Eligible work focuses on any news issue, local, national or international, significant to the listening public.

•  A single journalist must be principally responsible for the work submitted.

•  A journalist seeking the Prize may offer only one submission.

•  The eligible work is in the form of a produced news story, a news feature, documentary, a series on a single topic or an investigative report.

•  The person receiving the award must be 35 years of age or younger as of June 30, 2007.

•  The work submitted was broadcast on a CPB-qualified radio station in the U.S. between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.

•  Journalists may submit their own work; alternatively, works may be submitted by General Managers, Program Directors, News Directors, Producers or Editors of CPB-qualified radio stations; personnel supervising news programming at NPR, PRI or other networks providing programming to the public radio system; or independent producers providing programming to the public radio system.

•  Four copies of each work must be submitted on cassette or CD. Each copy must be individually packaged – in a CD envelope, a jewel box, cassette box, or the like.

•  Each submission must be accompanied by an Application Form and a Broadcast Certification Form signed by a General Manager (or equivalent executive officer), Program Director, News Director or Editor of a CPB-qualified radio station or broadcast organization attesting both to the date of broadcast and that the work is certified to be substantially that of the nominee. (Click here to download a pdf of the application forms.)

•  All works submitted must be received by WBUR at the address given below on or before Friday, September 14, 2007.

•  No journalist employed by The WBUR Group is eligible to win the prize.

•  A panel of outstanding experts in the field will judge the works.

•  No officer or employee of The WBUR Group is eligible to participate in the panel.

•  The winner will be notified by Friday, October 26, 2007.

•  The recipient will be honored at a special dinner to be held in Boston on November 5, 2007.

SUMMARY

Candidates for the 2007 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize should send:

1. Completed Application Form;
2. Completed Broadcast Certification Form with appropriate signature (Click here to download a pdf of the application forms.); and
3. Four copies of the eligible work on cassette or CD

To the following address:

WBUR
Attn: Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize
890 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston , MA 02215

All relevant materials must be received on or before Friday, September 14, 2007.