Martin Smith, producer extraordinaire of some of the most riveting documentaries for the PBS program, Frontline, has received the 2014 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, presented by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Typically, our reaction to journalism awards is akin to that of the late Alex Cockburn, author, columnist and long-time co-editor of the sassy CounterPunch.com web site, who had this to say on the subject in 2009:
‘…as a rule CounterPunch disapproves of the endless prizes the journalism industry awards itself. Many years ago, the great editor of Le Monde, Hubert Beuve-Mery, let it be known that anyone at his newspaper accepting an award would be fired. These farcical rituals peak in the annual absurdities of the Pulitzers…
‘Now I see that another CounterPuncher has been given a major journalism prize. His newspaper reports that ‘Patrick Cockburn, The Independent’s foreign correspondent, has won the 2009 Orwell Prize, the most prestigious award for political writing in British journalism.’ The judges hail his work as ‘an exemplary untangling of the political and social complexity that lies behind one of the world’s great crises.’ They praised the manner in which Cockburn’s work ‘enriches our understanding.’ This is well merited praise, but…the Orwell Prize? I have not yet had an opportunity to remonstrate with Patrick about accepting a trophy etched with the name of a police informer. I can only hope that some very substantial financial dispensation accompanied the award – the sole argument for accepting this or any such prize. At least our parents are not alive to witness this shame.’
This post was published at Wall Street On Parade on October 2, 2014.
Follow on Twitter
Recent Comments