UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Twin Cities Campus School of Journalism and Mass Communication College of Liberal Arts 111 Murphy Hall 206 Church Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455-0418

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sarah Howard, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, 612-625-8095, showard@umn.edu FINALISTS OF THE 35TH ANNUAL FRANK PREMACK PUBLIC AFFAIRS JOURNALISM AWARDS ANNOUNCED March 3, 2012MINNEAPOLIS. The finalists of the 2011 Frank Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards have been announced. New this year, only finalists, not winners, are being announced, plus a category for broadcast public affairs was added. The winners will be announced at the Frank Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards Program, held Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 5 p.m. at McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota-East Bank campus. The awards program celebrates the winning work and will feature a keynote by PolitiFact founder Matt Waite. The event is free and open to the public. The awards program will also feature the presentation of the Graven Award, which is given each year to a member of the journalistic community whose contribution to excellence in the profession deserves merit, to Dave Pyle of the Minnesota Associated Press and the Farr Award, which is given to members of the community who have made an exceptional contribution to public affairs journalism, to Lynda McDonnell of St. Thomas Universitys Project ThreeSixty. In our rapidly changing media environment, public affairs reporting remains a cornerstone of our democracy, said Premack board chair Rohan Preston. The finalists for the 35th annual Premack Awards demonstrate that there is much investigative, courageous and well-written work to celebrate. The Premack award finalists in 2011 are: (Finalists listed in alphabetical order by news organization) Excellence in public affairs reporting: print/online (large organization) The finalists in this category are Notorious Landlords by Elizabeth Mohr and MaryJo Webster of the St. Paul Pioneer Press; The Reckoning: Minnesota Confronts Its Budget Crisis by Curt Brown, Baird Helgeson, Pam Louwagie, Kelly Smith, Jim Spencer, David Phelps, Jennifer Bjorhus, Brand Schrade and Warren Wolf of the Star Tribune; and Violated: Abuse of the Aged and Vulnerable in Minnesota by Brad Schrade of the Star Tribune. Excellence in public affairs reporting: print/online (small organization) The finalists in this category are The Banishing: Terrorized by the Native Mob, an Indian Tribe turns to an ancient punishment by Andy Mannix of City Pages; Minnesota Sex Offender

Program by Brandon Stahl of the Duluth News Tribune; and Bullying gay and lesbian kids: How a school district became a suicide contagion area by Beth Hawkins of MinnPost. Excellence in public affairs reporting: broadcast/online [new category this year] The finalists in this category are Tough Economy Forcing More Children Into Homelessness by KARE-11 reporters Jeff Olsen and Rena Sarigianopulos; Welfare Waste by Mark Albert, Mike Maybay, Erik Altmann, Jim OConnell and Lee Zwiefelhofer of KSTP-TV; and Minnesota: Weak on Bullying by Tom Weber and Bill Wareham of Minnesota Public Radio. Excellence in opinion writing (large organization) The finalists in this category are Capitol Doors Swing Open by Jon Tevlin; Protect teen victims in sex trafficking by Scott Gillepspie; and UCare donation raises questions by Jill Burcum, all of the Star Tribune. Excellence in opinion writing (small organization) The finalists in this category are Law would endanger teen health by Kathy Vos of The Free Press as well as With marriage amendment, no one wins and Sauk Rapids pledge seeks to hide facts from public, both by Randy Krebs of the St. Cloud Times. Visit premackaward.org/finalists to read the finalists entries, vote for your favorite and comment about the stories. *** The Premack Awards are named in honor of Frank Premack (1933-1975), who began his reporting career at the Minneapolis Tribune in 1958 and quickly became well-known for his aggressive pursuit of the news. He later became city editor and assistant managing editor and was a member of the Tribunes Special Reporting Group. ###