Nominations for the Tom and Pat Gish Award in rural journalism are due by midnight tonight, Sept. 1. To nominate a candidate, send a detailed letter explaining how the nominee shows the kind of exemplary courage, tenacity and integrity that Tom and Pat Gish demonstrated at The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky., for 51 years. Broadcasters are also eligible. Documentation does not have to accompany the nomination, but is helpful in choosing finalists, and additional documentation may be requested or required. Send your nominating letter to Al.Cross@uky.edu or get it postmarked by midnight and send to 122 Grehan Journalism Bldg, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40506-0042.The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues named the award for Tom and Pat Gish, above, who were the first recipients of the award, in 2005. Tom died in November 2008; Pat has health issues but remains publisher, and their son Ben is editor. This year, the Gish family won the Eugene Cervi Award from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors for consistently acting in the conviction that “good journalism begets good government.”
The 2007 Gish Award was won by the Ezzell family of The Canadian Record, a Texas weekly that has held local, state and national politicians accountable, fought political extremism, opposed unwise military adventures and helped protect the environment, often against organized and violent opposition. The 2008 award went to James E. Prince III, and Stanley Dearman, current and former publishers of The Neshoba Democrat, a weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Miss. The Democrat was recognized for its leadership, especially on civil rights and reconciliation over the last four decades. For a more detailed description of the award, its history and those of the recipients, click here.
The Gish Award was not presented in 2006 and 2009, but it will be in 2010. The Institute seeks nominations that measure up, at least in major respects, to the records of previous winners.
2 comments:
"good journalism begets good government." Is that a quote from a Gish family member? Would like to use, but want to properly attribute.
No, that's a criterion for the Cervi award. But I can say without fear of contradiction that Tom Gish believed it. Pat and Ben too.
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