Four Finalists Chosen for $75,000 2008 Grantham Prize for Environmental Journalism

NARRAGANSETT, R.I., MAY 27, 2008 – Four finalists have been chosen for the third annual Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment.

The University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment created the Grantham prize in 2005. The $75,000 prize honors the work of one journalist or team of journalists for exemplary reporting on the environment. Three runners-up each receive $5,000 Awards of Special Merit. The annual prize is open to journalists, writers and producers in the U.S. and Canada and recognizes nonfiction work published or broadcast in the previous calendar year.

The finalists for the 2008 Grantham Prize are:

David Barboza, Keith Bradsher, 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.

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.

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. 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.

The 2008 winner of the $75,000 Grantham Prize will be announced on June 23. 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.

An independent panel of five jurors evaluated the entries and selected the finalists. The jurors were: Chair Philip Meyer, Professor, Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication; David Boardman, Executive Editor of The Seattle Times; Peter Desbarats, veteran print and television journalist and former Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario; Diane Hawkins-Cox, Senior Producer for CNN-Atlanta; and Robert B. Semple, Jr., Associate Editor of the Editorial Page for The New York Times.

The Grantham Prize is funded by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham through The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The foundation supports natural resource conservation programs both in the United States and internationally. Jeremy Grantham is a Boston-based investment strategist and Hannelore Grantham is the Director of The Grantham Foundation.

The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting was established at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography in 1997 with funding from three media foundations – the Belo Corporation, the Providence Journal Charitable Foundation and the Philip L. Graham Fund – and the Telaka Foundation. It is named after the late Michael P. Metcalf, a visionary in journalism and publisher of The Providence Journal Bulletin from 1979-1987. The Metcalf Institute provides science training for reporters and editors to help improve the accuracy and clarity of marine and environmental reporting and offers journalism fellowships in support of diversity and reporting on science and the environment.

Contact: Bud Ward
(703) 307-0150

www.granthamprize.org

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