Forward Wins Two Awards
The Forward has been honored with Deadline Club awards for excellence in reporting and in opinion writing for articles published in the Jewish national weekly newspaper in 2009.
The awards, sponsored by the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, were announced during a banquet June 7 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Newspapers, magazines and wire services, as well as radio, television and cable organizations in the New York metropolitan area competed in nearly 30 categories, submitting about 300 entries, contest organizers said.
Two news articles in the Forward, “Few Jewish Workplaces Have Family-Friendly Policies” and “Jewish Women Lag Behind Men in Promotion and Pay,” were judged the best in the “Reporting” category for newspapers with less than 100,000 circulation.
The judges said the two stories “managed to do what exceptional journalism does: inform and spark change.” The team of Jane Eisner, Gabrielle Birkner and Devra Ferst was honored for the articles.
Jay Michaelson, a monthly Forward columnist, won in the category of “Opinion Writing” among publications of all sizes for a series of three columns: “How I’m losing My Love For Israel,” “A ‘New Jew’ Goes to Auschwitz” and “Do Jews have a Jesus Problem?”
The judges wrote that “Michaelson argues eloquently, in, of all places, The Forward, a Jewish newspaper … His is a brave, clear opinion on a subject where there are few right answers.”
Another regular contributor, Benjamin Ivry, was a finalist in “Arts Reporting,” for his piece “From the Kol Israel Orchestra to a Pygmy Choir.”
Winners received a Deadline Club sculpture designed by the late Rube Goldberg.
It was the second consecutive year that the Forward was honored for exceptional reporting. In 2009, Nathaniel Popper received an award for a 2008 series of investigative stories on poor workplace conditions and other violations at the Agriprocessors slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa.
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