Worth Bingham Prize

Infobox award
name = Worth Bingham Prize
current_awards =


imagesize = 150px
caption = Worth Bingham, from [http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/bingham.html Worth Bingham Prize] .
description = "The Worth Bingham Prize honors newspaper or magazine investigative reporting of stories of national significance where the public interest is being ill-served."
presenter =
country = USA
location = Washington, D.C.
year = 1967
year2 = 2006
website = http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/

The Worth Bingham Prize, also referred to as the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Reporting, is an annual journalism award which honors: "newspaper or magazine investigative reporting of stories of national significance where the public interest is being ill-served."cite web | last =Staff | title =The Worth Bingham Prize | work =Worth Bingham Prize | publisher =worthbinghamprize.org | date = | url =http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/ | accessdate = 2007-11-09] [cite news | last =Staff | title =`Color of Money' Series Wins Worth Bingham Prize | work =The Atlanta Constitution | date =May 2, 1989 | ]

About the Prize

The prize is named for Worth Bingham, a reporter who died suddenly at the age of thirty-four. [cite news | last =Staff | title =About Worth Bingham | work =The Worth Bingham Prize | publisher =worthbinghamprize.org | date = | url =http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/bingham.html | accessdate = 2007-11-10] cite web | last =Staff | title = Newswise Guide to Journalism Awards, 2007-2008 | publisher =Newswise | date =October 17, 2007 | url =http://www.newswise.com/resources/j_awards/ | accessdate = 2007-11-09 ] Bingham was graduated from Harvard College in 1954 and served as an officer in the United States Navy. He joined the staff of the "Louisville Courier Journal and Times" in 1961, where he received a National Headliner Award for his series on "Our Costly Congress." Before he died in 1966 in an accident on Nantucket Island, he had worked his way up to assistant to the publisher.

The prize is seen as a recognition of the best investigative reporting in American newspapers and newsmagazines. [cite book | last =Frawley-O'Dea | first =Mary Gail | title =Perversion of Power: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church | publisher =Vanderbilt University Press | date =2007 | pages =Page 195 | id = | isbn = 0826515479] [cite book | last =Woods | first =Keith | title = Best Newspaper Writing 2004 | publisher =Bonus Books, Inc. | date =2004 | pages =Page 362 | id = | isbn = 1566252342] The investigative reporting recognized tends to involve violations of the law, inefficiencies in government; or conflicts of interest and questions of impropriety. The three-judge panel of the Worth Bingham Prize considers the impediments the journalist faced during his or her research, their style of writing, and the impact their piece has had on the public. [cite web | last =Staff | title =Awards and Grants for Writers | work =College of the Humanities & the Arts Resources | publisher =San José State University | date = | url =http://www.sjsu.edu/humanities/resources/grants/writing/ | accessdate = 2007-11-09 ] Currently, the Worth Bingham Prize judges include representatives from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, Copley News Service, "The New York Times", and Bloomberg News.cite web | last =Staff | title =The Worth Bingham Prize: 2006 | work =Worth Bingham Prize | publisher =worthbinghamprize.org | date = | url =http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/judges.html | accessdate = 2007-11-09] The prize itself is funded through the tax-exempt Worth Bingham Memorial Fund, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. [cite book | last =Brogan | first =Kathryn S | coauthors =Robert Lee Brewer | title =2004 Writer's Market: 8,000+ Book and Magazine Editors Who Buy What You Write | publisher =F & W Publishers | date =2003 | pages =Page 974 | id = | isbn =1582971897 ] In order to be eligible for the Prize, journalists may submit a single piece, a related amount of articles, or three unrelated stories. Columns and editorial pieces are also eligible for the Prize. [cite book | last =Edelson | first =Phyllis | coauthors =Foundation Center Staff | title =Foundation Grants to Individuals | publisher =Foundation Center | date =2003 | pages =Page 710 | id = | isbn = 1931923450] The winner is presented with a trophy and USD$10,000, at the Annual Awards Dinner of the National Press Foundation. [cite web | last =Staff | title =Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Reporting | work =NPF Awards | publisher =National Press Foundation | date = | url =http://www.nationalpress.org/info-url3520/info-url_list.htm?cat_id=1389 | accessdate = 2007-11-09 ] [cite news | last =Staff | title =Worth Bingham Prize. p.2 | work =Editor & Publisher | date =May 20, 1995 | ]

Notable recipients

The first award was given in 1967 to William Lambert of "LIFE" magazine. Past notable recipients include Seymour Hersh of "Dispatch News Service" in 1969, for uncovering the My Lai massacre during The Vietnam War; and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in 1972, for their reports on the Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon. Bob Woodward won the award a second time in 1987, for his reporting on secrecy and covert action in United States foreign policy. [cite news | last =Staff | title =W. Dallas lead series wins honor | work =Dallas Morning News | date =April 10, 1994 | ] [cite news | last =Staff | title =Woodward Wins Journalism Award; Coverage of Secrecy in U.S. Foreign Policy Is Honored | work =The Washington Post | publisher =The Washington Post Company | date =April 23, 1987 | ]

See also

*Barry Bingham, Sr., father of Worth Bingham

References

Further reading

*cite book| first = David Leon with Mary Voelz Chandler| last = Chandler| year = 1987| title = The Binghams of Louisville: The Dark History Behind One of America's Great Fortunes| publisher = Crown| id = ISBN 0-517-56895-0
*cite book| first = Marie | last = Brenner | year = 1988 | title = House of Dreams: The Bingham Family of Louisville | publisher = Random House | id = ISBN 0-394-55831-6
*cite book | first = Sallie | last = Bingham | year = 1989 | title = Passion and Prejudice: A Family Memoir | publisher = Knopf | id = ISBN 0-394-55851-0
*cite book | first = Susan E. and Alex S. Jones | last = Tifft | year = 1991 | title = The Patriarch: The Rise and Fall of the Bingham Dynasty | publisher = Summit Books | id = ISBN 0-671-79707-7

External links

* [http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/ Official site]
* [http://www.worthbinghamprize.org/winners.html Previous winners]