2009 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism and America's Promise Journalism Awards
The Journalism Center on Children & Families presented the 2009 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. JCCF's co-host, America's Promise Alliance, presented the first America's Promise Journalism Awards for Action and Awareness, which go to two outstanding Casey Medal winners.
America's Promise Alliance presented the Action Award to USA Today's Brad Heath and Blake Morrison for "The Smokestack Effect: Toxic air and America's schools." It presented the Awareness Award to WNYC's Radio Rookies' Shirley Diaz, Raymond Henderson, Krystle Monclova, Kaari Pitkin, Melissa Robbins, Sanda Htyte, Courtney Stein and Marianne McCune for "Growing Up in the System," a series of first-person accounts about foster care. Each entry won $5,000 from America's Promise Alliance, in addition to a $1,000 prize with the Casey Medal, made possible by The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
- JCCF Video: Morrison and Heath tell how they conducted their investigation.
- JCCF Video: Backstage with the Radio Rookies.
“It takes extraordinary reporting to break free these stories that run the risk of going untold and ignored,” said JCCF Executive Director Gena Fitzgerald. “Journalists who report on these critical social issues capture the attention of a community or a nation -- and help create change."
"America’s Promise Alliance is thrilled to recognize these inspiring pieces of journalism,” said Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the Alliance. “The increased awareness of what life is like as a young person in foster care, and the legislative changes that resulted from ‘The Smokestack Effect,’ will undoubtedly lead to better outcomes for young people throughout the country, she added. “We’re thrilled to be supporting journalists as they raise awareness of critical issues facing children and youth."
Video Highlights: 2009 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism Ceremony
JCCF video by Jon Sham
