Jim Amoss, editor of the Times Picayune in New Orleans, is receiving a journalism award this evening in recognition of his paper’s efforts in continuing to serve the community of New Orleans throughout Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
Amoss has been commended for keeping the paper running throughout the storm, helping reveal the faults of FEMA during the disaster and helping to keep recovery efforts on the national and international agenda.
The Anvil of Freedom Award he is receiving is presented to “honor a journalist who has made an outstanding contribution to democracy,” according to Lynn Clark, director of the Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media, which bestows the award annually.B
The award “recognizes the foundational role that certain journalists play in our society and in the media industries,” said Clark. “Through the storytelling, these individuals have guided efforts that investigate wrongdoing. They have illuminated the best – and sometimes the worst – of our collective and individual humanity.B They have not been afraid to speak the truth, even when it may have brought discomfort to those in power.”
The award ceremony is part of Tuesday’s “Democracy in the Eye of the Storm” event, which will feature a number of workshops for the DU community in the afternoon and a musician from New Orleans in the evening.
Amoss will speak at one of these workshops, “Journalism and Public Good in the Face of Disaster.” He will “talk about the challenges facing journalism today and his own challenges working with reporters in the ravaged Gulf region,” said Clark. This workshop lasts from 4 – 5:50 p.m. in the Mass Communications Building, room 119.
Other workshops include a showing of Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke” and discussions on conducting business ethically during and after a disaster, research on relocation, and how race, class and gender interacted in New Orleans during the disaster.
“The workshops are designed to help students and other members of the public to get a broader perspective on what is happening in New Orleans and how our fate at the University of Denver, and in the city of Denver, is related to that area,” said Clark.B
All workshops will be held from 4 – 5:50 p.m. at various locations.
Amoss will be presented with his award at 7:00 p.m. in Hamilton Recital Hall. Following his remarks on his experience during the disaster, Henry Butler, a New Orleans jazz pianist, will perform.
Butler, who is blind, relocated to Denver following the hurricane. According to Clark, Butler is, “pleased to be able to make a tribute to Jim Amoss in light of the work that the Times-Picayune has done to help New Orleans get back on its feet.”
The event is cosponsored by the Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media, the School of Communication, the Department of Mass Communications and Journalism Studies, the University of Denver Partners in Learning program and the Iliff School of Theology.
For more information on the event and to find out about workshop locations, visit www.estlow.org.
