|
|
July 3, 2009
An Independent threesome
B.C. Jewish community paper is the only Canadian recipient.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
The American Jewish Press Association's annual conference took place last week in Evanston, Ill. As part of the event, there was an awards ceremony recognizing excellence in Jewish journalism – the Jewish Independent took away three 2008 Simon Rockower Awards.
Founded in 1944, the AJPA currently represents more than 250 publications, journalists and affiliated organizations in the United States and Canada, and the combined readership of AJPA member publications is more than 2.5 million. In this year's competition for the association's Rockower awards, the Independent took first place in its circulation category for both excellence in editorial writing and excellence in feature writing, as well as a second-place finish for excellence in photography among all the AJPA papers that submitted their work for consideration.
The weekly Canadian Jewish News, based in North York, Ont., the Hamilton Jewish News, based in Ancaster, Ont., and published only a few times a year, and B'nai Brith Canada's weekly Jewish Tribune in Toronto are all members of the AJPA, according to the association's website. While the Independent was the only Canadian paper to be honored this June, the Canadian Jewish News has won numerous Rockowers over the years.
The first-place Jewish Independent editorial, "Ideals Fall Short at UN," was published Dec. 19, 2008, and lauded "the magnificent ideals represented in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. But, the editorial noted, "Among the various tragedies of the declaration is the misuse of its intent for political ends. This tragic abuse has allowed perpetrators of violence and discrimination, and their allies, to cloak themselves in the language of social justice even as they inflict injustice." It concluded, "To read the declaration now, with its optimistic and determined language, evokes a sadness created by the failure of the idealism of 1948 to reduce or eliminate the tragedies of 2008. While we celebrate the declaration's ideals, we recognize the shortcomings of its implementation. To read this magnificent document today is sad as well because we cannot get beyond the first word – universal – without encountering a debate."
The Jewish Independent's first-place finish in feature writing was for an article by New Westminster freelance writer Eugene Kaellis. In "Capitalism's ideological anchor: Reactions to the works of Ayn Rand continue to oscillate, despite the years gone by," which was published in the JI on Jan. 11, 2008, Kaellis examines how, decades after the publication of her widely successful and influential novel Atlas Shrugged, Rand remains one of the most contentious authors of the 20th century.
Finally, writer, editor, artist and photographer Baila Lazarus placed second this year for the photo that graced the cover of the Independent's June 13, 2008, Summer Celebration issue, called "Celebrating 150 Years of B.C. this Summer 1858-2008."
These three awards keep the Independent's winning streak alive. Last year, a Simon Rockower Award for excellence in feature writing went to West Vancouver writer Kelley Korbin for her article "Looking for a new life: Jewish prisoners seek comfort in the community," published in the Independent Jan. 12, 2007. Two years ago, the Independent won another hat trick, with Katharine Hamer's second-place finish for excellence in news reporting ("Waiting out the rising storm: Israelis live in fear, hope as tensions escalate on two fronts," July 21, 2006), Brad Fisher's second-place article for excellence in feature writing ("Life lessons from a beautiful baby: Don't be afraid to reach out to friends facing the death of a loved one, they need you," Feb. 24, 2006) and a third-place finish for excellence in editorial writing with "Fight for free speech," which ran Feb. 24, 2006.
All these and other Jewish Independent articles and editorials can be found at jewishindependent.ca. Since its inception in 1930, the Independent, formerly the Jewish Western Bulletin, has received many honors but, in the past 10 years alone, it has won 13 Rockowers, as well as a Jack Webster award for excellence in British Columbia journalism and an Ethnic Press Council of Canada award. As always, the Independent thanks all of its readers and advertisers for their continued support and is proud to share these honors with them.
^TOP
|
|
