I'm glad to see this. Last year it looked like the Katie Awards, given for outstanding journalism in this area, might be finished. The sponsor of the awards, the Dallas Press Club, suspended the awards in 2007 when it realized that some cheating had occurred.
It was learned that the former head of the organization, Elizabeth Albanese, had cut some corners. Instead of obtaining independent and unbiased judges to evaluate the work of those nominated, she just gave the awards to whoever she wanted -- including naming herself as the winner of several of the Katies.
Winning a Katie was once considered a prestigious honor, and the Dallas Press Club is hoping to restore that prestige. They have promised that independent judges would be chosen to judge all entries. The judges comments will be included with each entry, and the name of the judge(s) will be on the back of each award given.
They have also announced that the University of Missouri Journalism Department and the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in Florida, have agreed to participate in the judging. This is a good move, and should restore some credibility to the awards.
The awards used to cover a six state area, but that has now been narrowed to center on Texas. Those nominated must be a Texas news organization, or be a Texas-based journalist from an outside source. The AP, the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram have all announced they will participate in the revived awards.
The deadline for nominations is August 29th, and the new Katies will be given out at a banquet on November 15th. I hope everything goes well. I'd like to see the awards regain their prestigious status. They were once, and hopefully will again be a real boon for Texas journalism.
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