John B. Oakes Awards

Submissions for 2009 now being accepted. See How to Enter

The Oakes Award, which honors the career of the late John B. Oakes, a New York Times editor and pioneer in environmental journalism, has gained a reputation among journalists as a premier print environmental writing prize.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel received the 2008 John B. Oakes Award for distinguished environmental journalism for its series, "Chemical Fallout." The Oakes Award ceremony and panel discussion took place on March 5 at the Graduate School of Journalism.

Read article from Columbia Journalism Review:
"Journal-Sentinel, AP honored for exposing lax oversight of chemical exposure"

In awarding the prize, this year’s judges singled out the work of reporters Susanne Rust, Meg Kissinger and Cary Spivak, who worked tirelessly to analyze the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its efforts to protect the public from dangerous chemicals found in common household items such as baby bottles and toy rubber ducks. The Journal proved that despite millions of taxpayer dollars spent by the government, the EPA failed to test products for hazards to the body’s reproductive, developmental and behavioral systems, particularly impacting fetuses and women of child-bearing age.

“We received almost 100 entries in the newspaper and magazine divisions for this prize and concluded that the Journal Sentinel once again led the nation in performing a watchdog role that has a far-reaching implication on health issues,” said Arlene Morgan, associate dean and director of the Oakes Award. The Milwaukee newspaper also received the Oakes Award in 2005 for “Troubled Waters, the Great Invasion.”

“The series exposed the EPA’s national failure to protect citizens in an accessible and informative manner, offering clear steps that could be taken to cleanse homes of these toxins,” said Oakes Award judge Jody Calendar, president of Calendar Communications and a former senior editor of two newspapers. “The Journal’s commitment to detail and responsibility mark the essence of outstanding environmental community service.”

The Associated Press (AP) received an honorable mention for its investigative series, “PharmaWater,” which explored how America’s drinking water is being contaminated with trace concentrations of a multitude of pharmaceuticals. The judges recognized the AP’s National Investigative Team – Martha Mendoza, Jeff Donn and Justin Pritchard – for their work in reviewing data that showed how watersheds are being contaminated with pharmaceuticals and the failure of most American cities to test household water supplies.

As newspapers around the country are cutting costs and decreasing their reporting teams, this year’s winners reflect a commitment to solid environmental journalism in the face of the challenges brought on by the economic downturn. “The judges were proud to have had such strong entries during these difficult times,” said Calendar.

The Journal’s citation comes with a $5000 prize and plaque; the Associated Press with a $1000 award and plaque. There was no prize given in the magazine division this year.

“We are very excited about using this award to teach students studying at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism about the best practices that were used in these reports,” said Morgan. “Both series display solid research of studies and databases about health hazards in everyday products we take for granted.”

Over the past 11 years, the award has recognized works ranging from a News & Observer investigation of political favoritism in North Carolina's hog industry, which later won the Pulitzer Prize, to a Seattle Times story revealing that industrial wastes contaminated with heavy metals were used on farms as fertilizer.

A Times columnist, editorial writer, editor of the editorial page, and creator of the op-ed page, Oakes created the award in 1993 at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading environment and conservation advocacy organization, where he was a founding trustee. The award is underwritten by an endowment created by the Oakes family and friends. The judges represent a cross section of the scientific and journalism communities.

Read bios of the 2008 winners.

Download the press release
About John B. Oakes
Oakes Prize Judges

Contact

Lisa Sara Redd
Program Manager, Professional Prizes
Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism
2950 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Email: lsr21@columbia.edu
Phone: 212-854-6468