The P ARKER T HOMSON Awards for OUTSTANDING LEGAL JOURNALISM in Florida A CALL FOR ENTRIES 2018 and the SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL Lifetime Achievement Award ENTRY DEADLINE: JULY 31, 2018
The PARKER THOMSON Awards for OUTSTANDING LEGAL JOURNALISM in Florida The Florida Bar s Media & Communications Law Committee presents the Parker Thomson Awards for Outstanding Legal Journalism in Florida to honor a longtime champion of the First Amendment and counsel to journalists. Thomson was a lawyer s lawyer. A Florida attorney since 1961, he died in 2017. The Harvard-trained lawyer was a founding partner of Paul & Thomson. He also was a partner at Hogan Lovells, and a mentor to several members of the Media & Communications Law Committee. From 1968 to 1983, Thomson represented many major clients including the Miami Herald, the New York Times, AT&T and Bank of America in First Amendment cases. His expertise included helping newspapers obtain public records. Thomson argued three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Miami Herald Publishing Company vs. Tornillo in 1974. He represented the Herald and won, overturning a state law that required newspapers to allocate equal space to political candidates on the editorial pages. Thomson left a legacy of legal excellence, civic duty and pro bono service. The Florida Bar Board of Governors and the Media & Communications Law Committee named these awards as a fitting tribute to Parker Davidson Thomson s countless contributions to media law. The Parker Thomson Awards recognize outstanding legal journalism in Florida. Qualified entries consist of a story or stories that highlight the system of law and justice as it affects Floridians. First place award winners will receive $500; second place winners will receive $250. All winning reporters and their media outlets will receive plaques. Recipients may instead have the cash award made as a donation to the First Amendment Foundation. Awards will be given in four categories: Print: Any non-opinion-based news material in a newspaper with a printed component, whether presented in print or online. Any opinion-based material in a newspaper with a printed component, including blogs, editorials and columns, whether presented in print or online. Television: Any broadcast story or series that investigates a single issue. Any broadcast story or series that continuously follows a single subject/trial. Radio: Any broadcast story or series that investigates a single issue. Any broadcast story or series that continuously follows a single subject/trial. 2 Online-only: Any story or series in an online-only publication: commentary, editorial cartoon or photo focusing on a single issue. Any story or series in an online-only publication that continuously covers a single subject/trial. News media that have made a significant effort to inform the public about the delivery or quality of justice are invited to enter. Work submitted for consideration may include news stories, series, features, editorials, documentaries, columns, special sections anything produced by your organization that deals with law and lawyers, courts, law enforcement, the delivery of legal services, the effectiveness of the justice system, and the work of the organized Bar or related matters. Content of entries may be current or historical, objective or analytical in nature. Special consideration may be given to entries that demonstrate courage or tenacity on the part of the news medium or the journalists who produced the entry. An entry is defined as: a single piece; a series; or continuous coverage of one particular ongoing issue. For a series or continuous coverage entry, only three stories should be submitted in their entirety; others should be listed in the narrative summary, with the headline, date published and a brief synopsis. Each news media organization, inclusive of all bureaus or regional sections, that submits an entry is considered an entrant. Each entrant may submit up to three entries. All media organizations, large or small, are encouraged to enter. Judging criteria are not based on the greatest amount of resources used, but whether those resources available are used well and to the fullest extent in the tradition of outstanding journalism.
ELIGIBILITY Any newspaper, radio station, blog, TV station, wire service or online-only media outlet located in Florida is eligible to enter materials published or produced between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2017. Final determination of eligibility is reserved for the judges. ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS (electronic submissions only no more than three entries per media organization) Entries must be submitted electronically and include all required materials. Incomplete entries will not be considered. All entries must include: 1) PDF of completed entry form, 2) PDF of one-to-two page narrative summary from the reporter of the entry that addresses: How the topic was first encountered and ultimately pursued; Reporting challenges or other special circumstances; Audience impact; or effect on community or legal system; 3) PDF of letter of support from the managing editor, producer or supervisor. Category requirements: PRINT: PDF of the entry form, narrative summary, letter of support, and full entry (exactly as it appeared in the newspaper) AND live url(s) to the entry. TELEVISION: PDF of the entry form, narrative summary, letter of support, AND live url(s) to the entry. RADIO: PDF of the entry form, narrative summary, letter of support, AND MP3 format or live url(s) to the entry. ONLINE-ONLY: PDF of the entry form, narrative summary, letter of support, AND live url(s) to the entry. Participants are encouraged to submit diverse examples including features, hard news, profiles, trial reports, etc., that will demonstrate the organization s overall effort to report on our legal and judicial system. Entries should be emailed to: parkerthomsonawards@floridabar.org on or before July 31, 2018. Questions? Call or email (850) 561-5666; parkerthomsonawards@floridabar.org. JUDGING The awards jury consists of two out-of-state journalists, two Florida lawyers with substantial experience in journalism and/or media law, and one Florida educator of journalism or law. Judges do not discuss the entries with any other persons until the winners have been publicly announced. In analyzing the entries, the judges will consider such factors as the informational value, the degree of difficulty of the subject matter and the execution of the entry, including depth of reporting and clarity of writing, editing and production and other technical characteristics. Where applicable, the impact of the story and any unusual courage in pursuing the story are considered. Because of the diversity of subject matter of entries, the relative weight assigned to the judging criteria will vary from year to year. No single factor is necessarily paramount. In the past, winning entries have increased public understanding of the inherent values of our legal system, exposed wrongdoing or flaws in the system, or informed and educated the public on the roles of the courts, law enforcement agencies or the legal profession. The determination of the awards jury is final and is not reviewed by The Florida Bar. The Florida Bar does not endorse the content of the winning entries. THE AWARDS WILL BE PRESENTED on Monday, Sept. 24, in Tallahassee Winners will be notified in advance. 3
The PARKER THOMPSON AWARDS CATEGORY (check one): COMPETITION ENTRY FORM DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: JULY 31, 2018 PLEASE PRINT PRINT: Any nonopinion-based news material in a newspaper with a printed component, whether presented in print or online. Any opinion-based material in a newspaper with a printed component, including blogs, editorials and columns, whether presented in print or online. TELEVISION: Any broadcast story or series that investigates a single issue. Any broadcast story or series that continuously follows a single subject/trial. RADIO: Any broadcast story or series that investigates a single issue. Any broadcast story or series that continuously follows a single subject/trial. ONLINE ONLY PUBLICATIONS: Any online only story or series, commentary, editorial cartoon or photo focusing on a single issue. Any online only story or series that continuously covers a single subject/trial. Media Organization Person Submitting Entry Title ( ) Telephone Number Mailing Address City State ZIP WRITER(S) / EDITOR(S) / KEY CREATIVE CONTRIBUTORS TO ENTRY: MANAGING EDITOR/PRODUCER/SUPERVISOR Return form with official entry material to: parkerthomsonawards@floridabar.org 4
SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Deadline for entries: July 31, 2018 The Florida Bar s Media & Communications Law Committee presents the Susan Spencer-Wendel Lifetime Achievement Award to honor a retired or working journalist who has written or reported extensively in an outstanding fashion to highlight and educate citizens on the system of law and justice as it affects the people of Florida. Spencer-Wendel was a longtime Palm Beach Post courts reporter who died in 2014 from ALS. She received a lifetime achievement award from The Media & Communications Law Committee in 2012 and during her career received multiple media awards from The Florida Bar, the Florida Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists and others. This award will include a cash prize of $500 and travel reimbursement to attend the awards ceremony in Tallahassee. The Media & Communications Law Committee established this award to honor those committed to the same goals and as a tribute to the professional contributions that Susan Spencer-Wendel made to journalism. In 2015, Martin A. Dyckman, who retired after 47 years at the St. Petersburg Times, became the first recipient of the award. It was presented posthumously in 2016 to longtime Daily Business Review reporter Julie Kay, the recipient of two Florida Bar media awards over the years. About the Award The Media & Communications Law Committee will honor a journalist with a cash award and an engraved plaque. The Award recipient will be announced in August. The honoree will receive transportation (airfare and two-night hotel stay) to accept the award at the annual Reporters Workshop dinner on Sept. 24 in Tallahassee. The event is attended by justices of the Supreme Court, Florida Bar leaders, workshop speakers and journalists who are new to the legal court beat or new to Florida. Additional travel costs are the responsibility of the award recipient. Recipients are expected to accept the cash award but will have the option of donating the amount to the First Amendment Foundation. Eligibility Nominations are open to any person in the United States or its territories who has published, posted or broadcast news material to highlight and educate citizens on Florida s system of law and justice. Nominees can include any journalist eligible to submit individual entries in the categories of print, television, radio, and online. 5
Susan Spencer-Wendel Lifetime Achievement Award Criteria Nominees are judged on the basis of how they made full use of resources in educating and serving the public good and on the quality of journalism exhibited in the work. Work that demonstrates evidence of positive change that has benefited the public or its institutions will be given strong consideration. Nominations (electronic submissions only) Nominations for the annual award may be made by any working journalist or professional journalism organization. Nominations should include: PDF of the nomination form, with endorsements by two additional individuals or organizations. PDF of one letter of nomination. The letter should detail: Specific efforts taken by journalist to highlight Florida s system of law and justice; obstacles and difficulties encountered; and changes made as a result of those efforts and how they have contributed to the knowledge of Florida s legal system or system of justice. Supporting materials may consist of published, posted or broadcast materials, documentation of service or lifetime achievement or any other appropriate materials (PDF, live url(s) and MP3 formats only). Entries become property of The Florida Bar Media & Communications Law Committee. They may be republished for general distribution or used to publicize the award. Further Information The Susan Spencer-Wendel Lifetime Achievement Award is a program of The Florida Bar s Media & Communications Law Committee. More about Spencer-Wendel s career can be found online at www.susanspencerwendel.com. 6
Susan Spencer-Wendel Lifetime Achievement Award NOMINATION FORM Individual Nominated Phone Nomination Deadline: July 31, 2018 Nominated by: Name Company Phone Fax Endorsed by: Name Company Phone Fax Endorsed by: Name Company Phone Fax NOMINATION DEADLINE: JULY 31, 2018 Questions? ph: 850-561-5666 email: parkerthomsonawards@floridabar.org Further details and guidelines are available at www.floridabar.org, under Media Resources. 7