June 10, 2019
ArchCity Defenders, a civil rights nonprofit law firm, is pleased to announce the third annual “Excellence in Poverty Journalism Awards,” and invites the community to nominate reporters. The Awards are designed to recognize and honor in-depth reporting on race, class, and poverty, and to inspire more coverage.“I don’t think there is anything more important in these times than telling the truth about disparities that exist across race and class and how those disparities impact actual human beings living in St. Louis. That is what the Poverty Journalism Awards are all about, acknowledging the reality of those who live on the margins and helping to tell their stories in a serious and comprehensive way,” said Blake Strode, Executive Director of ArchCity Defenders.
The community is invited to nominate regional journalists/reporters who have published a digital/print or audio/visual piece between May 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019. Digital/print may include newspaper, magazine, and/or online content; and, audio/visual may include podcast, tv, video, and/or radio. Nominations will be evaluated for their emphasis on centering individual experiences with poverty, classism, and racism within a systemic, historical analysis. To nominate, send the reporter’s name, article headline, news outlet, and a link to the piece if it is available online to communications@
The nomination period is open from June 10 through July 8, 2019. A three person panel will judge nominations. Finalists and honorable mentions will be publicly recognized at the Awards ceremony on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
In St. Louis City, one in four people live in poverty; however, their stories are underreported and too often, not framed within a systemic context. As a result, the misperception of poverty as a personal failing continues to misshape public opinion and misguide public policy decisions.
In 2018, Joel Sjerven, Cara Anthony and Julian Lim, Andrew McMunn, Caitlin Lee and Clark Randall were the named awardees, with finalists Ashley Lisenby, Sophie Hurwitz, Tim Lloyd and Kameel Stanley. For more information and photos from last year’s awards, click here.
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Media Contact:
Z. Gorley, Communications Director at ArchCity Defenders
zgorley@archcitydefenders.org