Which US or Canadian environmental journalist or team of journalists will win $75,000 for exemplary reporting in 2007? And more importantly, have you read their ground-breaking work yet? To learn the identities of this year’s finalists for the Grantham Prize and to link to their stories, read on. The Grantham Prize was established in 2005 by the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.
The press release from the Metcalf institute describes the finalists for the 2008 Grantham Prize:
* David Barboza, Keith Brasher, Howard French, Joseph Kahn, Jimmy Wang, and Jim Yardley from The New York Times for their 10-part series, “Choking on Growth,” about the scope of environmental pollution in China, and the degree to which Beijing’s response to this problem will impact other nations. Jurors found the Times’ online presentation of the series especially compelling, with videos, Q&A sessions, and Mandarin translations of the series. TreeHugger regulars may remember coverage of China Choking here.
* David Malakoff and Alison Richards, editors of the National Public Radio News series, “Climate Connections: How people change climate, how climate changes people.” This series pooled the resources of NPR News programs to take listeners on a global journey to understand the impacts of climate change and how humans are responding. Jurors noted that the series provided a vital public service through its explanations of climate science, policy, and the wide-ranging nature of the coverage. An example of the NPR coverage can be found in TreeHugger: Extreme Conservation Japan.
* Dinah Voyles Pulver of the Daytona Beach News-Journal for her richly detailed seven-part series, “Natural Treasures – Are We Losing Our Way?” Pulver examined the environmental consequences of various commercial and development pressures in northern Florida, with the dual goals of educating the public and inspiring action. Jurors agreed that this series represented a significant commitment for a newspaper of modest size, especially in these difficult times for print journalism.
* Ed Struzik, for his series, “The Big Thaw – Arctic in Peril,” which ran in two of Canada’s largest newspapers, the Edmonton Journal and the Toronto Star. Grantham jurors were impressed by the way Struzik blended scientific information and highly readable personal journalism to tell the story of how a changing climate has impacted the people, wildlife, and culture of the Arctic, and why this should matter to the rest of the world. Struzik’s work caught our attention: Melting Arctic.
The 2008 winner of the $75,000 Grantham Prize will be announced on June 23. Three runners-up each receive $5,000 Awards of Special Merit. The winner and Award of Special Merit recipients will be formally recognized at a September 8, 2008 prize ceremony and seminar to be held at the recently relocated Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Via: Press Release and ::Grantham Prize
and Treehugger
