Headline Club Announces Ethics in Journalism Award Winners

Headline Club Announces Ethics in Journalism Award Winners

CHICAGO, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Headline Club announced today that the 2005 winners of its annual Ethics in Journalism Award are anchor/reporter Anna Davlantes of NBC5 in Chicago and Chicago Sun-Times Publisher John Cruickshank.

Davlantes was cited for courage and professionalism in reporting the sale of the Village of Bridgeview golf dome despite repeated threats and intimidation.

Cruickshank was cited for disclosing that the Sun-Times had inflated its circulation figures by as much as 50,000 a day for up to eight years. He was successful in urging the newspaper's parent company, Hollinger International Inc., to report the irregularities to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Attorney's office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to the public.

The Chicago Headline Club, a professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, annually recognizes journalists and news organizations for performing in a highly distinguished ethical and sensitive manner. It's for those who struggle to do the right thing, possibly against intense pressure. It's for the story behind the story, how journalists conduct themselves while covering the news.

The Ethics in Journalism Awards will be presented in conjunction with the Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism at an April 29 banquet at the Westin Chicago River North, 320 N. Dearborn, Chicago. Matthew Cooper, White House correspondent for Time magazine, will be guest speaker. Tickets may be purchased for $75 at http://www.headlineclub.org/.

Responding to concerns of Bridgeview residents, Davlantes began investigating a golf dome sale that allegedly was forced by mob intimidation. While covering that story, Davlantes was approached by a man who told the reporter he knew where she lives, where her boyfriend lives and encouraged her to stop covering the story. He also made intimidating phone calls.

Davlantes admitted she was frightened, adding that confronting suspected mob figures is nothing like watching the Sopranos on television. "It's scary when you meet them," she said.

"There is a real ethical issue," said Davlantes. "How far do you go to get the story? Where's the line you draw in terms of your personal safety? People in war zones say this all the time. Everyone who cares about me told me to walk away from it ... It was something that hung over me for months."

A judge who reviewed the Davlantes nomination for the ethics award said, "giving her the award may in fact stiffen the backs of other young reporters" because of her courage in the face of intimidation.

Another judge said journalists "need to be aware we may be called on to act with courage. Anna Davlantes can teach us that lesson."

Instead of walking away, Davlantes did five reports and continues to cover the story because "it's a story that needs to be told."

Cruickshank is publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and chief operating officer of a Chicago group of Hollinger newspapers.

The Sun-Times published a story June 16, 2004, saying Cruickshank told staffers he had discovered overstated circulation figures after the Sun-Times raised its news stand price to 50 cents from 35 cents on April 1 of that year. He urged company officials to go public with his discovery.

"This was the right thing to do," Cruickshank said of the public disclosure, emphasizing that overstating circulation figures was "an unethical practice."

"I thought it would destroy us if we didn't make it public," the publisher said, despite fears by other executives that the disclosure "will kill the newspaper."

Cruickshank said he trusted advertisers to believe that new management at the Sun-Times wanted to correct the unethical practices of previous management. The company put aside $27 million to reimburse advertisers.

"I did this on behalf of the newspaper and on behalf of a lot of people who wanted to see change," said the publisher. "It was not personal, but an institutional thing. We saw practices that were unethical."

A judge commented that Cruickshank "definitely chose the ethical course over an unethical path that others had chosen and that had strong financial appeal. It is true that he also chose the course with less long-run legal risk than continuing the falsifying practices ... His action most accurately exemplifies the virtues of good ethical journalism that the (Ethics in Journalism) award acknowledges." Namely, "he practiced the truth with courage."

Other publications reported similar circulation irregularities in the wake of the Sun-Times disclosure.

The Chicago Headline Club began giving Ethics in Journalism Awards in 1996. Davlantes and Cruickshank are the 19th and 20th nominees to receive the awards, which are fashioned from crystal glass.

The Chicago Headline Club is dedicated to promoting the highest ideals of journalism. As the largest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Club's purpose is to provide an effective means for Chicago-area journalists to participate in programs to improve journalism standards, recognize excellence, encourage young journalists, advance the cause of freedom of information and enhance the prestige of the profession.

Source: The Chicago Headline Club

CONTACT: Casey Bukro, Chicago Headline Club ethics committee chair,
+1-847-869-4193 or cbukro@tribune.com; Ben Bradley, Chicago Headline Club
president, +1-312-961-6601 or benjamin.a.bradley@abc.com

Web site: http://www.headlineclub.org/

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