ASNE, APME announce creation of McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership
Posted 8/12/2002 3:49:00 PM

The American Society ofNewspaper Editors joins the Associated Press Managing Editors in announcingthe Robert G. McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership. The award is sponsoredby The Freedom Forum. Two awards will be given annually, one for newspaperswith a circulation of up to 50,000, the other for newspapers with more than50,000 circulation.

The awards will go toindividuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder,former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press. A past president of APMEand former member of ASNE’s Board of Directors, McGruder was a relentlessdiversity champion. He died of cancer in April 2002.

Jurors will be lookingfor nominees who have made a significant contribution during a given yearor over a number of years to furthering the cause of diversity in contentand in recruiting, developing and retaining journalists of color.

Eligibility: Individuals,newsrooms or teams of journalists from U.S. daily newspapers are eligible.A nominee’s newspaper must participate in the American Society of NewspaperEditors’ annual employment census.

The awards recognize achievementfor the year from October-September or contributions over a number of years.

Criteria: The diversityleadership awards honor an individual, a newsroom or a team of journalistsfor significant leadership in diversity through:

• Content: by reflecting accurately a diverse community in a way that demonstrates community and industry leadership. The definition of diversity includes ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religious background, political bent and physical ability.
• Recruitment: by providing opportunities for journalists of color to learn about newspapers as a career and enter the newspaper industry in internships and full-time jobs.
• Development: by offering opportunities for journalists of color to grow in their current roles and receive mentoring and training to advance to positions of greater authority or responsibility.
• Retention: by ensuring that journalists of color want to remain in the newspaper industry by providing an inclusive work environment that offers opportunities to contribute and advance.

Nominations can be madeby individuals, newspapers, professional organizations, schools of journalismand others.

To nominate, send a letter(of no more than three pages) outlining specific information about the achievementsand how they benefited the community, the industry and journalists of color.The letter should include the name of the person making the nomination andhis/her signature and telephone number.

You may supplement anentry with clips, but please send no more than 10 articles. Please send copiesno larger than 11x17.

Send material to KateKennedy, Director/partnerships and initiatives, Freedom Forum, 1101 WilsonBlvd., Arlington, VA 22209; kkennedy@freedomforum.org;703-284-3932.

Deadline: Receivedby Sept. 13, 2002

Judging: Nominationswill be judged by a committee composed of three representatives from APME, two from ASNE, a representative of the Freedom Forum and a representative of Unity.

Award ceremony:Announcement of the winners will be made at the annual APME conference, Oct.23-26 in Baltimore. The recognized honorees will receive $2,500 each.