Minnesota Monitor's Schmelzer wins a 2007 Premack Public Affairs Journalism Award

In the first year the prestigious awards were open to all media types, Minnesota Monitor managing editor Paul Schmelzer won a 2007 Frank Premack Public Affairs Journalism Award, fittingly, for an essay on journalism and ethics in an online age.

The honor for "excellence in opinion journalism," one of seven prizes awarded this year, recognized the piece "Who owns the J-word? Videoblogger's Jailing Raises Questions for Journalists," which chronicled the case of San Francisco's Josh Wolf, who was jailed for 226 days after refusing to give law enforcement footage of a rally in which self-identified anarchists scuffled with police. To the ire of some in the field, Wolf argued that he's a journalist and therefore covered by California's "shield law," which protects unnamed sources.

"This article was very timely -- it raises important questions about a key piece of our democracy -- the fourth estate," wrote the Premack judges. "It asked 'What is the future of journalism?' and "What do we make of all these new voices?'"

Also receiving honors were: the Star Tribune newsroom for its team coverage of the 35-W collapse; The Rushford Tri-County Record for its coverage of the 2007 flood (when the paper was without a newsroom); the Rochester Post-Bulletin's immigration series, "Broken Border"; Star Tribune reporter David Schaffer for his investigation of water contamination in Minneapolis; Kerry Ashmore of The Northeaster for an opinion piece on immigration; and veteran Pioneer Press writer Bill Salisbury, who was honored with the Graven Award for his 30 years of political reporting at the state capitol. The 31st annual Premack awards, administered by the Minnesota Journalism Center, will be awarded at a ceremony April 29 on the University of Minnesota campus.

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