2013 EXCELLENCE IN REPORTING AWARDS

 
There are two annual Excellence in Reporting Awards; one is the Robert Geiss award for the best grand jury report, and the other is the News Media award for best news media reporting. The first award honors the memory of Bob Geiss and acknowledges his many contributions to CGJA, especially as creator and lead trainer for the report writing portion of the annual training seminars. The specific criteria for each award are listed in the “What you will need” section below.
 
Requirements and limitations:

• Nominations must be submitted online by MAY 31, 2013.
• Nominations may be made only by a CGJA Chapter or Association for its county. Where there is no Chapter or Association, nominations may be made by a CGJA member who resides in the county. 
• A county may nominate only one grand jury report and one news media coverage topic per year. A single grand jury report may be the subject of both awards.
• The nominated reports must have been published within the preceding 5 years (from 2008-09 on) with sufficient time for responses or effects to be known.

See listing of past recipients.
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WHAT YOU WILL NEED in order to submit a nomination online:
  A.  Whether the nomination is for the Robert Geiss award (best grand jury report) or the New Media award (best news media reporting), or both.
B.  County
C.  Date and title of the specific report being nominated for the Robert Geiss award (best grand jury report)
D.  Dates and titles of media report(s) nominated for the New Media award (best news media reporting
E.  Chapter, Association, or CGJA member (if no CGJA Chapter or Association) submitting the nomination
F.   Contact name (if different from above)
G.  Contact telephone number
H.  Contact e-mail address
I.    Either online links (URLS) or electronic copies of supporting documentation for the following:
1.   Nominated grand jury report (as published) and/or media outlet (News Media award)
2.   Official response(s) to the report by county agencies or individuals, as required by the investigation.
3.   Media coverage of the report
J.   Rationale: A brief explanation of why this nominee should receive the award, addressing the criteria shown below (okay to copy and paste from a Word document).
The criteria for the Robert Geiss award include:

• Report quality -- legible, documented, succinct, complete, and understandable
• Citizen Impact: Importance or severity of problem
• Duration/persistence of the problem
• Difficulty of the investigation - many agencies, bureaucratic interference (e.g., denials, subpoenas), etc.
• Substantiated findings and recommendations within the report
• Exposure of the report by the media, or response from the public
• Documented success of the investigation

Media award nominations may be based on the coverage of a specific grand jury report or on the overall coverage given to a grand jury throughout the year.
The criteria for News Media award include:

• Increasing public awareness and understanding of the grand jury system
• Increasing public awareness of a specific grand jury investigation

 
If you have questions, please contact Barbara Sommer, RGEIR Committee Chair at basommer@ucdavis.edu.  The Chair will acknowledge receipt of the online nomination submission within a few days.