Karen Pulfer Focht Wins Top Casey Honors

 

(June 14, 2006) - Several current and past NPPA members have won 2006 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism from the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families. The Casey Journalism Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan program of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland in College Park, and is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The top photography award went to NPPA member Karen Pulfer Focht for her photographic essay “Born To Die” in The Commercial Appeal. It was part of a series, written by Aimee Edmondson, who also won a Casey Medal for the stories, revealing Memphis’ hidden crisis in infant deaths. Citing the work, the judges said, “By spending a great deal of time with her subjects, she was able to create intimate and beautiful portraits of pain and hope. Her images helped bring attention to how young, African-American mothers were being affected by a trend that few people in or out of government fully understood. This is the highest form of photojournalism: images that prick the conscience and encourage action.” Focht has been an NPPA member since 1983.

There were two runner-up awards and two honorable mentions in the photography awards.

Mike Siegel of The Seattle Times was recognized for “What’s Best for Baby M?” The story, by reporter Jonathan Martin, was an account of how a couple struggled to regain custody of their young daughter. “Siegel photographed his subjects with great dignity and provided readers with the visual capacity to understand this complex tale of a homeless couple trying to regain custody of their child,” judges said. He’s been an NPPA member since 1976.

Andy Cross of The Denver Post was recognized for “Letting Go,” an intimate portrait of a family’s goodbye to their dying 4-year-old son. “Documenting the intensely personal is always difficult for photojournalists but the images that Cross produced gave viewers a glimpse of what it is like for parents to slowly lose a child,” judges said. Cross joined NPPA and was a member in 1997.

Honorable mention was given to Mediha DiMartino of The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin for “Born Behind Bars,” an essay about how caring for their babies can have an affect on incarcerated mothers. DiMartino joined NPPA in 2000.

Honorable mention was also given to photojournalist Damon Winter of the Los Angeles Times for “Missionary's Dark Legacy,” the story of a community trying to recover from abuse decades later. Winter joined NPPA in 1997.

Mary McDermott and Ronald Nakasone of WISH-TV in Indianapolis, IN, won the Casey Medal for short form television for their story, “10,000 Children a Month,” a four-part series on the Indiana foster care system. “WISH took on a story few stations would attempt, given the difficulties of dealing with the juvenile justice system, with parents accused of neglect and with the foster care system,” the judges said. “A shortage of foster care homes means caseworkers are not sure children will end up. The series illuminates a serious problem plaguing cities around the country and points to solutions.” Nakasone joined NPPA and was a member in 1994.

A runner-up in the short form television category was “Sabrina’s Law” by Sharona Schwartz, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Michael Simon, Drew Levinson and Ryan Butler of CNN. “This is a powerful, well-told and well-produced story about food allergies, an issue that viewers may not even realize they should care about,” judges said.

Daniel Alpert, Susanne Suffredin, Dana Kupper, and Ines Sommer of The Kindling Group won the television long form category for “A Doula Story.” The judges said, “With compassion, clarity and a keen eye for detail, the producers portray the efforts of Loretha Weisinger, a doula (or childbirth educator), to guide and empower teen mothers on Chicago’s West side. Impossible to forget hours after watching it – the mark of a great tale.”

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