Media stories ranging from a close look at charter schools to a probe of special education are among the works honored by CTA's 41st annual John Swett Awards for Media Excellence.
Fourteen winners of the prestigious CTA awards were chosen by an independent panel of media professionals. The awards honor individuals, publications, and television and radio stations for their outstanding achievements in reporting education issues during 1999.
Columnist Skelton (left) accepts award from CTA's Johnson
"It's vital for education issues to make it from the classroom to the newsroom," said Wayne Johnson, president of CTA during the awards ceremony. "The John Swett Award is our highest honor for media professionals and the caliber of this year's winners is a tribute to their skills."
The winners received their awards during a luncheon held in their honor at the CTA State Council of Education meeting in June. In addition, CTA took out a full-page ad in Columbia Journalism Review to give further credit where credit's due.
The award is named for CTA's founder, who was California's fourth superintendent of public instruction.
The winners include:
Julian Guthrie, the San Francisco Examiner, for a series on a single subject - desegregation - and for a feature story about an inspiring music teacher at a San Francisco middle school.
Anna Gorman, the Los Angeles Times, for a feature story on Ventura County Latino students.
Nanette Asimov, the San Francisco Chronicle, for a feature story on California's charter schools.
George Skelton, the Los Angeles Times, for a series of columns on education issues.
The Los Angeles Times, for a series on special education by Richard Lee Colvin, Martha Groves, Duke Helfand and Louis Sahagun, with photographs by Rick Meyer.
Laura Hayes, the Irvine World News, for continuous coverage of education issues.
Lisa Davis, the San Francisco Weekly, for a feature on "Making Education Pay."
Marie Mischel, the Elk Grove Citizen, for a feature story about cartooning.
The Elk Grove Citizen, for continuous coverage by a publication.
The Willits News, for editorials and for a series on a local ballot measure.
Kathryn Baron, KQED-FM radio , for continuous coverage of education.
Noel Cisneros, KRON-TV Channel 4 , San Francisco, for individual education reporting.
