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The Newspaper Guild-CWA Presents Block Freedom Award, Northwestern University Professor, Medill Inno
Washington, D.C. -- The second Herbert Block Freedom Award, named for the late political cartoonist who was one of the Guild's longest tenured members, will be presented May 6 to Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project, directed and founded by journalism professor David Protess.
The prize, which includes a $5,000 check, is awarded annually to those who best exemplify Herblock's devotion to free speech, his compassion for the weak and disadvantaged and his distrust of unbridled power.
TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said the project's work exemplifies the values Herblock brought to his life's work and his dedication to justice, fairness and civil liberties.
Last year's winner was freelancer Vanessa Leggett, who spent 168 days in jail - by far the longest contempt-of-court sentence ever served by an American journalist - for refusing to surrender notes of jailhouse interviews.
Protess and his students have come to the attention of the media over the years for using basic reporting skills to uncover evidence exonerating death-row inmates in Illinois. Their work was a factor in Gov. George Ryan's decision in January to commute the sentences of more than 150 of the state's death-row prisoners to life in prison without parole.
In 1996, three of Protess' students found crucial evidence and got a witness to admit that police coerced her into testifying falsely against four defendants known as the Ford Heights 4. Three years later, another group of Protess' students turned up enough evidence to exonerate Anthony Porter just days ahead of his scheduled execution.
Protess' work has been recognized by his peers in the past, twice receiving "best book awards" from Investigative Reporters and Editors, as well as several top teaching awards from Northwestern. Last year, the National Education Association presented him with its annual H. Councill Trenhold Memorial Award for the impact his work has had on human and civil rights.
Herblock, the award winning political cartoonist for the Washington Post, was a TNG member for 67 years. He continued to draw cartoons until just a few weeks before his death at age 91 in October 2001.
The Freedom Award will be presented May 6 at the TNG Freedom Award Fund banquet at the Hyatt Regency Washington, with a keynote speech by Washington Post political columnist David Broder. Hosted by Bob Edwards of National Public Radio, the event also honors the winners of the Heywood Broun Award and David S. Barr scholarships.
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The prize, which includes a $5,000 check, is awarded annually to those who best exemplify Herblock's devotion to free speech, his compassion for the weak and disadvantaged and his distrust of unbridled power.
TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said the project's work exemplifies the values Herblock brought to his life's work and his dedication to justice, fairness and civil liberties.
Last year's winner was freelancer Vanessa Leggett, who spent 168 days in jail - by far the longest contempt-of-court sentence ever served by an American journalist - for refusing to surrender notes of jailhouse interviews.
Protess and his students have come to the attention of the media over the years for using basic reporting skills to uncover evidence exonerating death-row inmates in Illinois. Their work was a factor in Gov. George Ryan's decision in January to commute the sentences of more than 150 of the state's death-row prisoners to life in prison without parole.
In 1996, three of Protess' students found crucial evidence and got a witness to admit that police coerced her into testifying falsely against four defendants known as the Ford Heights 4. Three years later, another group of Protess' students turned up enough evidence to exonerate Anthony Porter just days ahead of his scheduled execution.
Protess' work has been recognized by his peers in the past, twice receiving "best book awards" from Investigative Reporters and Editors, as well as several top teaching awards from Northwestern. Last year, the National Education Association presented him with its annual H. Councill Trenhold Memorial Award for the impact his work has had on human and civil rights.
Herblock, the award winning political cartoonist for the Washington Post, was a TNG member for 67 years. He continued to draw cartoons until just a few weeks before his death at age 91 in October 2001.
The Freedom Award will be presented May 6 at the TNG Freedom Award Fund banquet at the Hyatt Regency Washington, with a keynote speech by Washington Post political columnist David Broder. Hosted by Bob Edwards of National Public Radio, the event also honors the winners of the Heywood Broun Award and David S. Barr scholarships.
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