Steve Kroft '75 won a 2008 duPont Award for "60 Minutes: The Mother of All Heists," an investigative report on how half a billion dollars disappeared from the Iraqi Defense Ministry. The groundbreaking investigative report revealed massive high-level corruption in Iraq that allowed a least half a billion dollars to be wasted, lost or diverted into private pockets. Kroft will present the 2008 Alumni Awards during the Journalism School's Alumni Weekend (April 3-6, 2008).

Richard M. Cohen '76 wrote "Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope" (Harper, Jan. 2008), the remarkable story of five ordinary people trapped in the complex world of serious chronic illness. Cohen is the author of Blindsided (HarperCollins, 2004), a bestselling memoir of illness. Cohen's distinguished career in journalism earned him numerous awards, including three Emmys and a John Foster Peabody Award. He lives outside New York City with his wife, Meredith Vieira, and their three children.

Neil Henry '78 has agreed to be the interim dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism while the school renews its search for a permanent successor to former Dean Orville Schell. Before coming to Berkeley in 1993, Henry wrote for the Washington Post and Newsweek. He also has written two books.

Elisabeth Bumiller '79 has written Condoleezza Rice: An American Life (Random House), described by the Wall Street Journal as "a serious, even-handed biography of Condoleezza Rice, one that is neither laudatory nor overly critical -- no small feat when writing about a Washington figure who stirs intense emotions."

Jeff Kisseloff '79 has written Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s, an Oral History (University Press of Kentucky), an invigorating collection of 15 testimonials from counter-culturists, conscientious objectors, and artists who came of age during one of the most volatile decades in American history.

Dan Popkey '81 has been named one of the best state political reporters in the country by the Washington Post. Popkey is a columnist for the Idaho Statesman.

Geraldine Brooks '83 has written People of the Book (Viking, Jan. 2008), an intricate, ambitious novel that traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript from convivencia Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo, from the Silver Age of Venice to the sunburned rock faces of northern Australia. It is Brooks' third novel, after Year of Wonders and her Pulitzer Prize-winning March.

Perri Knize '89 has written her first book, Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey (Scribner, Jan. 8, 2008). Earlier this month, she participated in a book reading and signing at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble store. She was also a featured speaker at a "Pianothon"—a roaming piano party of technical demonstration, readings, and performances by noted pianists and composers—in the piano showrooms of Piano Row in New York City. Knize is an award-winning environmental policy reporter whose articles and essays have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Conde Nast Traveler, and Outside. She lives with her husband in Montana.

Michael Valentine '94 won a 2008 duPont Award for the investigative series "Television Justice" on how the Murphy, Texas police collaborated in the sting operations of NBC’s "Dateline: To Catch A Predator" program. Valentine is the news director at WFAA-TV in Dallas.

Laura Winter '96 and Ivan O'Mahoney '00 jointly produced and co-directed "Baghdad High," a 90-minute documentary film, which follows four Iraqi teens through their final year in school. The film was made by Mahoney's production company StoryLabTV and Renegade Pictures and will be shown on BBC 2 (January), HBO (this spring) and ARTE (February). "Baghdad High" premiered at the Sheffield Doc/Fest. The British Press Association called it "the most memorable film of recent times."

Dan Simmons '00, a reporter at the La Crosse Tribune (Wis.), won first place in the Local Columns category of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation contest for his three columns, “Bridge”, “A Young Life”, and “ Xiong”. He also received honorable mention for the special section "Recalling the Recall.”

Michael Scherer '02 has joined the staff of TIME magazine as a political correspondent. Based in Washington, DC, he will be reporting and producing videos for TIME.com and will also write for the magazine. Before joining TIME, Scherer worked at Salon.com and also wrote investigative pieces for Mother Jones.

Joe Orso '05, a reporter at the La Crosse Tribune (Wis.), won first place in the Environmental Reporting category of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation contest for his story “Greener Pastures” on Luther College's environmental efforts.

Alejandro Lazo '06, MA '07 is covering commercial real estate on the financial desk of the Washington Post.

Kathleen McGrory '06, a reporter with the Miami Herald, was named Florida Young Journalist of the Year by the North Central Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Marcelle Hopkins '07 is a producer at Al Jazeera, the Arabic-language television news network. She covers New York and the United Nations.