BRUCE JESSON FOUNDATION
PO Box 99401, Newmarket, Auckland
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
23 April 2010
Massey Students Win Inaugural Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Award
A three-month investigation into a potential health risk from contamination at the former Masterton gasworks has won a team of Massey University journalism students the inaugural Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Prize.
The six students (Amanda Fisher, Michael Hasumi-Dickison, Motoko Kakubayashi, Chloe Vaughan, Rory MacKinnon and Sarah Taane) broke the news that local residents had not been informed of toxin levels on the old gasworks site, and that the local council had failed to follow up on advice, given years earlier, to remedy the situation.
The Massey submission consisted of three stories, including the front-page lead story, in the Wairarapa Times-Age newspaper on October 26, 2009. The students’ balanced coverage, achieved under the supervision of Massey Journalism lecturer James Hollings, included a well-written human interest story told from the point of view of a nearby resident whose children regularly played on the contaminated soil, alongside extensive expert commentary about potential risks, and rebuttal from the Regional Medical Office of Health who played down the risks. Though the response of the local council was described by the paper’s editor as “muted”, the story was not subject to legal challenge and was picked up by several other newspapers.
The Jesson judging panel recommended the award after consulting with Wairarapa Times-Age editor Dave Saunders about the students’ work. Saunders was impressed with their thoroughness and professionalism. “It was bloody good work,” Saunders said.
The Bruce Jesson Foundation was established in 1999 to commemorate one of New Zealand’s greatest political journalists, the late Bruce Jesson, by promoting “vigorous political, social and economic investigation, debate, analysis and reporting in New Zealand”. The Foundation holds an Annual Lecture and awards two journalism prizes:
The Senior Journalism Prize which is self-nominated by the journalists themselves and involves an emolument of up to NZ$3,000 to assist them to produce the kind of critical and analytical journalism exemplified by Jesson’s work.
The Emerging Journalism Prize which has a fixed emolument of $500 and is nominated by the heads of New Zealand journalism schools or journalism programme leaders for published work by student journalists.
Professor Jane Kelsey
Chair, Bruce Jesson Foundation
Further inquiries to Dr Joe Atkinson, Secretary of the Bruce Jesson Foundation, c/- Political Studies Department, University of Auckland, PB 92019, AUCKLAND, or by email j.atkinson@auckland.ac.nz, or by phone (09) 3737599 ext. 88094.
________________________________________________________________
Patron: Professor Noam Chomsky Chair: Professor Jane Kelsey Secretary: Dr Joe Atkinson
PO Box 99401, Newmarket, Auckland
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
23 April 2010
Massey Students Win Inaugural Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Award
A three-month investigation into a potential health risk from contamination at the former Masterton gasworks has won a team of Massey University journalism students the inaugural Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Prize.
The six students (Amanda Fisher, Michael Hasumi-Dickison, Motoko Kakubayashi, Chloe Vaughan, Rory MacKinnon and Sarah Taane) broke the news that local residents had not been informed of toxin levels on the old gasworks site, and that the local council had failed to follow up on advice, given years earlier, to remedy the situation.
The Massey submission consisted of three stories, including the front-page lead story, in the Wairarapa Times-Age newspaper on October 26, 2009. The students’ balanced coverage, achieved under the supervision of Massey Journalism lecturer James Hollings, included a well-written human interest story told from the point of view of a nearby resident whose children regularly played on the contaminated soil, alongside extensive expert commentary about potential risks, and rebuttal from the Regional Medical Office of Health who played down the risks. Though the response of the local council was described by the paper’s editor as “muted”, the story was not subject to legal challenge and was picked up by several other newspapers.
The Jesson judging panel recommended the award after consulting with Wairarapa Times-Age editor Dave Saunders about the students’ work. Saunders was impressed with their thoroughness and professionalism. “It was bloody good work,” Saunders said.
The Bruce Jesson Foundation was established in 1999 to commemorate one of New Zealand’s greatest political journalists, the late Bruce Jesson, by promoting “vigorous political, social and economic investigation, debate, analysis and reporting in New Zealand”. The Foundation holds an Annual Lecture and awards two journalism prizes:
The Senior Journalism Prize which is self-nominated by the journalists themselves and involves an emolument of up to NZ$3,000 to assist them to produce the kind of critical and analytical journalism exemplified by Jesson’s work.
The Emerging Journalism Prize which has a fixed emolument of $500 and is nominated by the heads of New Zealand journalism schools or journalism programme leaders for published work by student journalists.
Professor Jane Kelsey
Chair, Bruce Jesson Foundation
Further inquiries to Dr Joe Atkinson, Secretary of the Bruce Jesson Foundation, c/- Political Studies Department, University of Auckland, PB 92019, AUCKLAND, or by email j.atkinson@auckland.ac.nz, or by phone (09) 3737599 ext. 88094.
________________________________________________________________
Patron: Professor Noam Chomsky Chair: Professor Jane Kelsey Secretary: Dr Joe Atkinson
The Bruce Jesson Foundation was established in 1999 to commemorate one of New Zealand’s greatest political journalists, the late Bruce Jesson, by promoting vigorous political, social and economic investigation, debate, analysis and reporting in New Zealand.
To this end, since its inception the Foundation has sponsored an annual Bruce Jesson Memorial Lecture in Auckland and, since 2004, it has awarded an annual Bruce Jesson Journalism Prize. The latter award involves an emolument of up to NZ$3,000 to assist writers aiming to produce the kind of critical and analytical journalism exemplified by Jesson’s work as a columnist in Metro magazine, as editor of The Republican and as the author of several influential pieces of book journalism. It is self-nominated and dedicated to in-depth journalism projects on public issues that might not be undertaken, completed, or published without non-commercial subsidy.
The new Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Prize is being introduced this year specifically to reward “outstanding recent work by New Zealand print journalism students.” It shares the existing award’s broad aim of seeking "critical, informed, analytical and creative journalism or writing which will contribute to public debate in New Zealand on an important issue or issues," but it differs in three important respects:
a) It is focused more narrowly on the already published work of journalism students (though, exceptional unpublished work may occasionally be considered).
b) It seeks nominations from Heads of Journalism Schools rather than from the journalists themselves.
c) It offers a fixed emolument of $500, together with certificates of commendation for one or more runners-up.
Nominations for the 2009 Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Prize are hereby sought from the Heads of New Zealand journalism schools. Nominees’ work will be assessed by members of the Foundation’s Journalism Subcommittee: Joe Atkinson (convener), Simon Collins, Jon Stephenson, and David Robie.
Nominations together with copies of nominated work (preferably in electronic form) should be forwarded by no later than Monday, October 19, 2009 to:
Dr Joe Atkinson, Secretary of the Bruce Jesson Foundation,
C/- Political Studies Department,
University of Auckland, PB 92019, AUCKLAND.
Joce Jesson addresses those assembled....
then unveils..
.
and finally ARC Chair Mike Lee adds his address.
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