John B. Oakes Awards

About the Oakes Award

The John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism is awarded annually to the author of an article or series in a U.S. newspaper or magazine that makes an exceptional contribution to public understanding of environmental issues. Over the years, the award has gained a reputation among journalists as the nation's premier environmental writing prize. It has recognized work that exemplifies the best in American print journalism. The award honors the career of the late John B. Oakes, a pioneer of environmental journalism who worked for The New York Times as a columnist, editorial writer, editor of the editorial page, and creator of the op-ed page. It was created in 1994 at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading environment and conservation advocacy organization, of which John Oakes was a founding trustee. The award is judged by an independent panel of distinguished journalists and environmental specialists. Its first chair was Thomas Winship, the editor known for transforming the Boston Globe from a relatively minor publication into a leading national newspaper.
About John B. Oakes
Oakes Prize Judges

Announcing the 2007 Award Winners

There are three winners of this year's John B. Oakes Award -- a three-day series in The Times Picayune of New Orleans titled "Last Chance: The Fight to Save a Disappearing Coast," a series in the Los Angeles Times, "Blighted Homeland," about the contamination of Navajo lands in Utah and in the magazine competition McKenzie Funk’s story “Cold Rush: The Coming Fight for the Melting North,” from Harper's Magazine. The awards will be presented at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University on February 11, 2008.
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