California Teachers Association
1705 Murchison Drive
P. O. Box 921
Burlingame, CA 94011-0921
(650) 697-1400
www.cta.org
Contact: Mike Myslinski at (650) 552-5324.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BURLINGAME - Media stories ranging from a community uproar over a school superintendent to an examination of charter school law abuses to one television reporter's private crusade to fund scholarships for high school kids are among the works honored by the California Teachers Association's 44th annual John Swett Awards for Media Excellence.
Fourteen winners of the prestigious CTA awards were recently chosen by an independent panel of media professionals. The awards honor individuals, publications and television and radio stations for their outstanding achievements in reporting and interpreting public education issues during 2002.
"These are journalists who have gone the extra mile in their outstanding reporting on public education in California," said Wayne Johnson, president of the 330,000-member CTA. "The John Swett Award is our top award for media professionals. It is only right that we honor the media representatives who honor education with their honest and compassionate work."
There were 45 entries this year. The winners will receive their awards during a luncheon in their honor at the CTA State Council of Education meeting in Los Angeles on May 31. CTA also will take out a full-page advertisement in the July/August issue of Columbia Journalism Review magazine to list the winners and give them national recognition.
The award is named in honor of the founder of CTA, who was California's fourth superintendent of public instruction. This year's 14 John Swett Award winners and their winning entries:
Newspapers
- Nanette Asimov, the San Francisco Chronicle , for continuous coverage of school issues that included stories on charter school scandals.
- Louis Freedberg, the San Francisco Chronicle , for his editorial writing on such vital education issues as the successful fight for Proposition 47, the state's testing mania, and the toll on teachers from daily pressures and their lack of resources.
- Suzanne Pardington, the Contra Costa Times , Walnut Creek, for a feature story about a teenager's harrowing foster care voyage and the impacts on her education.
- Stefanie Knapp, the Los Angeles Daily Journal , for contribution by an individual for a series on a mock trial program for high school students involving a fictitious murder case.
- Patti Rasmussen, the Signal , in Santa Clarita Valley, was a double winner. She won for continuous coverage of education issues, and for a feature story titled "Mr. and Mrs. Education" about talented spouses recently hired to teach in the Saugus Union School District.
- Kara Platoni, theEast Bay Express , Emeryville, for a feature story about a community uproar over the divisive conduct of Hayward Unified School District Superintendent Joan Kowal.
- Mark McDermott, the Easy Reader , Hermosa Beach, for a series of stories about difficult contract negotiations between teachers and the Redondo Unified School District.
Radio
- Kathryn Baron, KQED-FM, San Francisco, for contribution by an individual for a newscast.
- The Forum talk show, KQED-FM, San Francisco, for a lively call-in program with CTA President Wayne Johnson and others about CTA's proposed legislation last year to give teachers and parents a greater say on school policy issues.
- KNX 1070 News Radio, Los Angeles, for a series of editorials about the Los Angeles Unified School District that included responses from the teachers' union, United Teachers-Los Angeles.
- Pat Thurston, KSRO radio, Santa Rosa, for talk shows that covered several school issues and included an interview with CTA Secretary-Treasurer-elect Dean E. Vogel.
Television
- Rigo Chacon, KGO-TV (ABC), San Jose bureau, for his ongoing stories about the student successes from his own "Abrazos and Books" scholarship program giving Santa Clara County high school kids a better chance to afford a college education.
- News 10, KXTV (ABC), Sacramento, for the station's "Teacher of the Month" series of profiles about public school teachers in the region who are making a major difference every day in the classroom in different, creative ways.