The Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics recognizes outstanding application of ethical standards by an individual journalist or group of journalists.
The award is named after Anthony Shadid, a University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus and foreign reporter for the Washington Post and The New York Times. Mr. Shadid won two Pulitzer Prizes for his courageous and informed journalism. In February 2012, he died from health complications while crossing the Syrian border.
A graduate of the UW-Madison journalism school, Mr. Shadid sat on the Center for Journalism Ethics advisory board and was a strong supporter of the center’s aim to promote public interest journalism and to stimulate discussion about journalism ethics.
The Anthony Shadid Ethics Award includes a $1,000 prize and expenses to accept the award at the Center for Journalism Ethics annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin, April 10, 2015.
We seek nominations for ethical decisions in reporting stories in any journalistic medium, including, print, broadcast and digital, by those working for established news organizations or publishing individually. The award focuses on current journalism and does not include books, documentaries and other long-term projects.
While some regard ethics as a set of rules to follow, the Center for Journalism Ethics sees them as balancing conflicting values. For example:
Ethical journalists diligently seek truth. At the same time they seek to minimize harm to innocent individuals, the community or society at large. This can present a conflict.
Ethical journalists value transparency but respect privacy. Their search for truth may sometimes require anonymity for sources or violation of privacy. These also present conflicts.
Entries will be judged solely on the thoughtfulness and responsibility of the journalists in resolving such conflicting values.
Letters of nomination must include:
1. The name and contact information of the nominator and their relationship to the story, and the identity of the reporter or reporting team that produced the report.
2. A brief description of the story and a link to it online.
3. The conflicting values encountered in reporting a story.
4. The options considered to resolve the conflict.
5. The final decision and the rationale for making it.
Nomination Letters of three pages or less should be saved in pdf format and attached to an e-mail sent to shadidaward@journalism.wisc.edu
An Entry Fee check for $50 payable to Center for Journalism Ethics should be sent to
Shadid Award, 5115 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue, Madison WI 53706
Anyone for whom the entry fee would constitute a hardship may request a waiver and should include that request with the letter of nomination.
Deadline for submissions is January 19, 2015.
By entering this competition, you grant the Center for Journalism Ethics permission to use your entry as a positive example of ethical decision-making if your entry is judged a finalist for the award.