Write an article, get it published, win $50,000
SHOWCASE | May 02, 2008
But not just any article. This is a 'preventive journalism' prize set up by a group called 'Understanding Government,' founded and headed by Charles Peters, the former publisher of Washington Monthly. A likely subject of the article: exposing poor leaders and bad policies before they lead to disasters.
[This unusual award offer has been kicking around for a good while, it appears, but I just found out about it--and entries are being accepted until the end of June. Possibly there are a few others, slow like me, who are interested? --Barry Sussman, Nieman Watchdog editor]
From a press release:
WASHINGTON, April 2—Understanding Government today announced the Prize for Preventive Journalism, a $50,000 award to be given for the best article published in a magazine or newspaper about how government deals with a significant public problem. The new prize is part of the Washington, D.C., foundation's mission to foster better government performance through better journalism on the work of government.
"Our goal is preventive journalism," said Understanding Government founder and president Charles Peters. "We are looking for articles that identify inept leaders, misguided policies, and bureaucratic bungling before they lead to disasters like the bad pre-war intelligence about WMD and the travesty that was the response to Katrina." The foundation will begin accepting entries on July 1, 2007 for a one-year period and will award the $50,000 cash prize in September 2008.
The amount of the prize is larger than for most journalism awards. Peters explains: "It's been hard to get reporters to look at mine safety until after the widows are weeping. The large award is designed to wake journalists up to the need to do this kind of reporting before it's too late." Published articles submitted for the prize can cover federal, state, or local government, or a combination of these. In addition to describing the issue and government's response, entries must include proposals for how government can more effectively address a given problem.
Understanding Government is a non-profit foundation dedicated to improving government effectiveness by increasing public understanding of how government works. Founded in 1999, the organization supports journalism that reports on government and tracks government programs that have been especially effective or ineffective…
For further information, contact Edward Hodgman, executive director of Understanding Government, at ehodgman@understandinggov.org, by telephone at (202) 986-2700, ext. 254, or c/o The New America Foundation, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Nominations for the Preventive Journalism prize should be articles published after July 1, 2007 and should be sent to Understanding Government, P.O. Box 53338, Washington, D.C. 20009-9338.
