NARRAGANSETT, RI – November 22, 2011 – The Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting has announced the 2012 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment. In its seventh consecutive year, the $75,000 Grantham Prize, the largest cash award for journalism, will reward the very best environmental writing of 2011.
“The Grantham Prize is making a difference in newsrooms,” said Metcalf Institute Executive Director and Prize Administrator Sunshine Menezes. “The prize not only informs millions of news consumers about significant environmental issues, a pursuit to which the Grantham Foundation is committed, it also raises the bar for environmental reporting across the industry. We are proud to open the call for entries for this prestigious prize.”
“With our outstanding jurors and meticulous judging process we have built a strong reputation in the journalism community,” Menezes added. Among the criteria jurors will consider are the significance of the subject matter, quality and originality of the reporting, and the effort involved in telling the story.
The Prize-winning entry will be broadly disseminated to increase public awareness of the topic, environmental issues generally and to inspire excellence in scientific reporting in mainstream media. In addition to the top prize, up to three additional entries will receive $5,000 Awards of Special Merit.
In past years the prize has recognized expansive stories that impacted public opinion and policy. Past Grantham Prize winners include James Astill, The Economist; Alanna Mitchell, author of Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis; Blake Morrison and Brad Heath, USA Today. Since 2006, 23 journalists have been awarded The Grantham Prize and dozens of additional journalists have been recognized for groundbreaking coverage of significant environmental news. For a complete list of past awards, see http://www.granthamprize.org
The 2012 Grantham Prize is open to works of non-fiction published, broadcast, or posted online in the United States or Canada between January 1 and December 31, 2011. Book entries must be postmarked no later than January 9, 2012. All other entries must be postmarked by January 30, 2012. Grantham Prize contest rules, entry information, juror’s profiles, past winners, forms, formats and a helpful checklist are available online at http://www.granthamprize.org. Specific inquiries may be directed to info@granthamprize.org.
Sources: The Grantham Prize is funded by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham through The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The foundation also supports climate change research and natural resource conservation programs in the United States and internationally. Jeremy Grantham is a Boston-based investment strategist, and Hannelore Grantham is the director of The Grantham Foundation.
The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting, based at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, was established in 1997 with funding from three media foundations, the Belo Corporation, the Providence Journal Charitable Foundation and the Philip L. Graham Fund, and from the Telaka Foundation. It is named for the late Michael P. Metcalf, a visionary in journalism and publisher of The Providence Journal Bulletin from 1979-1987. In addition to administering The Grantham Prize, Metcalf Institute provides science training for reporters and editors to help improve the accuracy and clarity of environmental reporting and offers journalism fellowships in support of diversity and reporting on science and the environment. For more information, contact Metcalf Institute at 401-874-6211 or visit us online at http://www.metcalfinstitute.org.
