Awards

I.F. STONE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

This award is named for a crusader and muckraker in the 1950s and 1960s, who passed away in 1989.

The award recognizes journalists who uncover the abuse of power, influence and money by government officials.

Will Langhorne, reporter, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock:

“I’m honored to have received this year’s I.F. Stone Award and am thankful for all the help I received from my editors at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. As a newcomer to the state, I’ve also been fortunate to work alongside several veteran journalists who have helped guide and inform my reporting.

Encouraging and investing in investigative journalism is becoming increasingly important as news deserts expand across the country and media organizations are forced to make difficult decisions about how to allocate their resources.

At the city and county level, reporters are often the only watchdogs keeping an eye on local governments and organizations. By scrutinizing budgets, tracking policies and drilling into local disputes, these journalists break important investigative stories for their communities that would otherwise have gone unreported.

At the state and regional level, journalists play a critical role in monitoring the actions of agencies, elected officials and powerful companies. These investigative reporters are crucial when it comes to keeping influential figures accountable.

Thank you to the Arkansas Press Association for supporting investigative journalism. “

ERNIE DEANE-BRENDA BLAGG AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING

The annual $1,000 award, this being the first, memorializes the late columnists Ernie Deane, a journalist, educator and historian who for decades wrote “The Arkansas Traveler” and “Ozarks Country,” and Brenda Blagg, whose column, “Between the Lines,” ran from 1979 to 2022.

It is funded through the Ernie Deane Endowment, which is intended to support the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation’s charitable and educational purposes.

Not only were Ernie and Brenda teacher and student, they shared a deep love for Arkansas and were role models for many journalists and the journalism profession.

Frances Deane Alexander, Ernie’s daughter and Brenda’s friend, helped make this new award possible.

Ellen Kreth, publisher, Madison County Record, Huntsville: “To be presented an award named for two of Arkansas’ greatest and most respected columnists is both an honor and intimidating. Ernie Deane and Brenda Blagg were powerful in the words they chose and the points they made. I was a huge fan of Brenda’s fight for transparency too and the way she would use her columns to make others aware of the importance of being aware.

Deane and Blagg both demonstrated consistency. They were dedicated journalists for their lifetimes. Their columns showed up on people’s doorsteps and later computers on a consistent basis and readers felt they had a trusted friend to guide them through Arkansas history as well as thorny issues facing communities.

Continued from page 1 See Awards page 3