Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Awards for Excellence in Reporting on Drug & Alcohol Issues -- Submissions Due June 14

Drug Strategies, a national nonprofit research institute, is accepting submissions for the seventh annual Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Awards for excellence in reporting on drug and alcohol abuse through June 14.

The award is given in two categories: broadcast (radio or television) and print. Ten thousand dollars will be awarded in each category and there is no entry fee. Entries for the year 2005 awards must consist of a single article or broadcast or a series of related broadcasts aired or articles published between June 2, 2004 and June 1, 2005. Winners will be notified in October 2005 and will be honored at an awards luncheon in New York in November 2005. Submissions must be postmarked by June 14, 2005. Entry forms can be downloaded from http://www.drugstrategies.org/awards.html.

The Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Award jury seeks submissions that provide new insight into substance abuse issues. Submissions are judged based on whether they contribute to new solutions or other community initiatives, including better public understanding of the issue. Past winners have shed light on such timely and important topics as: teenagers abusing cold medications; our nation’s drug policy; abuse of painkillers; the impact of emerging illegal drugs on communities; and alcohol abuse among college students.

The 2004 winners were ABC News/PJ Productions for Peter Jennings Reporting: “Ecstasy Rising”; The Post-Star in Glens Falls, New York for “The Cost of Fun: Stories of Teen Drinking” and Fred Schulte of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for “Drugging the Poor.” People magazine received an Honorable Mention. Previous years’ winners were: ABC 15 The Investigators; The Sun; National Public Radio’s Justice Talking; Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times; Times Union; One Voice: Media United Against Drugs (KMTR-TV, KVAL-TV, KLSR-TV, KEVU-TV); Martin Smith and Lowell Bergman, Frontline; The McClatchy Company; The Spokane Spokesman-Review; Ted Koppel, ABC Nightline; Barbara Ferry and Abel Uribe, The Santa Fe New Mexican; Eric Newhouse, Great Falls Tribune; Timothy Egan, The New York Times; Matthew Schofield, Kansas City Star; Carol Marin, Don Moseley and Susan Evans, WBBM- TV; and Allison Zigich, Jefferson Public Radio.

The Awards honor Nancy Dickerson Whitehead’s efforts to improve media coverage of drug issues. During her long and distinguished career as a broadcast journalist, she reported on many critical social concerns, including the nation’s problems with drug and alcohol abuse. Whitehead was a distinguished broadcast journalist and an active member of the Board of Directors of Drug Strategies.

Drug Strategies is a non-profit research institute promoting more effective approaches to the nation’s drug problems through treatment, prevention, education, law enforcement and community coalitions.

Contact Information

Gretchen Wright

Media Contact

Drug Strategies

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