Call for Nominations: The Vernon Jarrett Medal for Outstanding Reporting on Black Life

BALTIMORE, July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgan State University's School of Global Journalism & Communication (SGJC) is calling for nominations for the 5th annual Vernon Jarrett Medal for Journalistic Excellence. The medal is awarded to a journalist who has published or broadcast stories that are of significant importance or had a significant impact on some aspect of black life in America. In addition to the Vernon Jarrett Medal, the outstanding journalist will receive a $10,000 prize.

The award ceremony will be held Thursday, September 19 at Noon at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  The award recipient also will receive complimentary travel and hotel accommodations to attend the ceremony.

The award is open to all journalists across multi-media platforms. Candidates can self-nominate, be nominated by a news or community organization, or by an individual. Only one nomination is permitted for each journalist. Media outlets are limited to two entries. Submissions can include any work published between October 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

"In the year since the Vernon Jarrett Medal for Journalistic Excellence was last awarded the need for coverage of issues of importance to people of African descent has increased," said SGJC Dean DeWayne Wickham. "Propelled by this nation's political wars, and the continuing inequities in America's economic and criminal justice systems, the need for journalists to probe these issues is compelling. This award encourages journalists to report these stories and recognizes excellence among those who do," said Wickham.

To apply, please send submit a digital copy of the nominated work, a resume, and a narrative detailing how the work reflects the values of the Vernon Jarrett Medal. Submissions should emailed to [email protected]. Submissions must be received by Monday, August 19, 2019.

The award is named for the late Vernon Jarrett, a pioneering African American columnist. Jarrett wrote for the Chicago Defender, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. In the late 1940s, he partnered with composer Oscar Brown, Jr., to produce "Negro Newsfront," the first radio news broadcast in the United States created by African Americans. He also founded The NAACP's Act-So program, which encourages academic excellence among black youth, and he is a founding member and former president of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Previous Medal winners are Helen Ubiñas (2018) and Mensah Dean (2017), both from the Philadelphia Media Network; Kirsten West Savali, a writer, cultural critic and associate editor of The Root, (2016); and Dr. Stacey Patton, then, a reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education (2015).

The Vernon Jarrett for Medal Journalistic Excellence is funded by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.

About the School of Global Journalism & Communication
The School of Global Journalism & Communication, created in July 2013, is led by founding Dean DeWayne Wickham, a former columnist for USA TODAY and a founding member and former president of the National Association of Black Journalists. The school is dedicated to giving voice to people who struggle to contribute to the public discourse that shapes the nation and the world through innovative teaching, cutting-edge research and exemplary service to Maryland, the nation and the world. The school seeks to instill students with the skills, knowledge and training necessary to become effective communicators and to add to the diversity of thought in the media.

About Morgan State University
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

Contact:  David Marshall
443-885-3648
[email protected]

SOURCE Morgan State University

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