Six writers and broadcasters were named winners of the AAAS Science Journalism Awards for stories about a range of subjects from volcanoes to viruses. The awards were presented by The American Association for the Advancement of Science and sponsored by The Whitaker Foundation.
Writing for the Anchorage Daily News, Doug O'Harra won in the small-newspaper category for three articles: "In Search of the First North Americans," "In Search of Spectacled Eiders" and "The Rat Zone," the story of the threat to coastal sea bird sanctuaries created when rat-infested ships run aground.
Terry McDermott took an award in the large-newspaper category for his special report in the Seattle Times, "The Rarest Thing on Earth," about the dilemmas of the biotechnology industry as it deals with the confluence of science, politics and business.
The judges also awarded a special citation to NASW president Laurie Garrett for two series which appeared in Newsday, "AIDS in India" and "Ebola." Garrett was honored for her commitment and enterprise in reporting and writing on emerging diseases.
Alan Burdick's article in the New York Times Magazine on the introduction of exotic species, "Invasion of the Nature Snatchers," won in the magazine category. National Public Radio's Richard Harris took the radio prize for the second time for his story, "Hormones in the Environment."
In television, Gary Hochman of Nebraska ETV Network was cited for "Buried in Ash," about the discovery in Nebraska of animal fossils around an ancient watering hole buried by the ash of a volcanic eruption. The program aired on PBS's NOVA series. Cheryl Pellerin, Jon Ward, Susan Winslow, and others, of the Cronkite Ward & Co. Production Team received an honorable mention for their program, "Understanding Sex," which appeared on The Learning Channel.
The print judges included: Deborah Blum, Sacramento Bee; Dennis Meredith, Duke University; Ben Patrusky, CASW; Paul Raeburn, Associated Press; M. Mitchell Waldrop, freelance; Laura van Dam, Technology Review.
For television, judges included: David Baron, WBUR-FM/National Public Radio; Gino Del Guercio, Boston Science Communications; Peggy Girshman, Video News International; David Lindley, Science News, freelance; Stuart Schear, Kaiser Media Fellow/Health and Science reporter.
Judges for the radio category were: Harvey Black, freelance; Doug Levy, USA Today; Eliot Marshall, Science; Joe Sheppard, AAAS Radio.
#