DALLAS, Texas (ABP) — Some of the top secular media who focus on religion have been named winners of the 2006 Wilbur Awards, an annual competition that highlights excellence in media dealing with religious themes, issues and events.
Mindy Marchal, the Wilbur Awards chair, said the awards' nationwide relevance and importance in mainstream media make them unique. The awards will be presented April 1 in Dallas.
“This is my first year [as chair], so as a newbie I was very impressed with the scope of entries we got,” Marchal said. “We got entries from NBC, CNN, Time magazine … and we also got entries from smaller areas, like the local affiliate in Davenport, Iowa.”
Marchal said she was especially pleased to recognize a Canadian film crew for two broadcast entries and NBC News for its “Meet the Press” broadcast.
This year's winners included several repeat winners, one of which includes Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe.
“The interesting thing is that Michael was not able to attend the ceremony last year because he was covering the death of the pope,” Marchal said. “That report on the pope is what won the category this year.”
The Dallas Morning News won for the best newspaper religion section, “Spirituality and Values,” edited by Bruce Tomaso. The Dallas newspaper has won the award numerous times, most recently in 2004.
Given by the New York-based Religion Communicators Council, the Wilbur Awards include categories for radio broadcast, TV documentary, national magazine and newspaper column. The awards honor Marvin Wilbur, who served as the RCC executive secretary for 27 years.
The 77-year-old RCC includes 13 chapters nationwide and more than 600 members. RCC is an interfaith association that plans education and networking opportunities for religion-related media.
“Basically, the awards started 57 years ago, but in the first seven years or so, they were given only for [print] journalism,” Marchal said. “Later, they added broadcast media.”
Judging for each category consists of a jury chairperson who picks three to five experts in their field to rate each entry. The banquet and awards ceremony serve to conclude the three-day-long RCC national convention.
This year's other winners are: Boston Globe, “A Life History,” Michael Paulson, top-market newspaper section; Sacramento Bee, “The Gift,” Jennifer Garza, other-market newspaper section; Detroit Free Press, “Our Spirit,” David Crumm, top-market newspaper column; Sioux City Journal, “I Believe,” Kathy Yoder, other-market newspaper column; John Sherffius, editorial cartoon; Time, “Hail Mary: A series on Mary and Joseph,” David Van Biema, national magazine; Columbia Journalism Review, “Stations of the Cross: The Rise and Fall of Faith-Based News,” Mariah Blake, specialized magazine; “The Zahir,” Paulo Coelho, fiction book; “Augustine: A New Biography,” James O'Donnell, nonfiction book; “Cape of Good Hope,” Suzanne Kay, theatrical film; “Scared Sacred,” VisionTV, TV film; “Impossible Choices,” Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, TV national news segment; “Meet the Press – Faith in America,” NBC News, TV national news series; “In God We Trust”, KWQC-TV, TV local news; “The Fires That Burn: The Life and Work of Sister Elaine MacInnes,” VisionTV, TV documentary; “The More You Know”, NBC Universal, TV commercial; and “State of Affairs: Prayer,” WFPL, radio.
-30-