Kovach and Rosenstiel Receive Distinguished Service in Journalism Awards

by CCJ Staff

"In recognition of their inspired work with citizens and journalists to raise the quality of journalism in democratic societies," Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel of the Committee of Concerned Journalists were awarded the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguised Service in Journalism.

The awards banquet took place on November 1 at the Donald W. Reynolds Alumni Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. Kovach and Rosenstiel were two of eight journalism leaders to win the 2006 award. They were joined by:

• Clifford G. Christians, an award-winning scholar of media ethics and communications.
• Chuck Curtis, chairman of Valentine Radford/Square One Advertising, Kansas City.
• Reza Deghati, photojournalist and founder of AINA, a non-governmental organization struggling for the development of independent media and cultural expression in Afghanistan.
• Karen Brown Dunlap, president of The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, FL.
• Zubeida Jaffer, an acclaimed South African journalist whose activism made her a key figure in the anti-Apartheid movement.
• John Seigenthaler, founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.

Kovach and Rosenstiel presented a class to Missouri Journalism School Master students entitled "Campaign Coverage on the Ground and in Cyberspace" as part of winning the prize. Missouri cited the "advancement of the principles of the journalism profession" as the basis for awarding Kovach and Rosenstiel the prize, noting the pair's work in creating the Committee of Concerned Journalists, authoring The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, and developing CCJ's Traveling Curriculum newsroom training program.

The Missouri Journalism School has awarded the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism annually since 1930. Tom Brokaw, Christiane Amanpour of CNN, Sir Winston Churchill, Carol Loomis of Fortune magazine and Gordon Parks are among the distinguished journalists, advertising and public relations practitioners, business people, institutions and media organizations who have been recipients of this influential award.

Click here for the Missouri Journalism School's Award Announcement.