Silurians Press Club KIHSS AND DUGGAN AWARDS via Zoom September 16, 2020 NOON Details to come online Published by The Silurians Press Club, an organization Check your email of veteran New York City journalists founded in 1924 SEPTEMBER 2020 Celebrating The Best BY JACK DEACY a 40-minute documentary that told the Virtual Awards Ceremony on June 24. Type Investigations won two Merit Awards Chair story behind the stories, plus shorter The event was attended online by more awards and the following outlets each videos showing the contrast in how than 300 people, and featured video of won one Merit award: the New York Post, acial discrimination comes in white and minority house-hunters were many of the winners describing how they Bloomberg Businessweek, WFUV-FM many forms—some so subtle treated. The Newsday report generated reported their award-winning stories. Radio and Spectrum NY1 News. Rthat it takes years of hard study action within days of publication from Tom Brokaw of NBC News delivered Competition is always fierce in the to expose it. That’s what Newsday did the highest levels of federal, state and the keynote address. Investigative Reporting category and in producing its series “Long Island county governments that led to significant “This year’s Silurians Excellence this year was no exception. But one Divided,” co-winner of this year’s reforms. in Journalism Awards comes at a most extraordinary series by Brian Rosenthal President’s Choice Award, the top prize The New York Times also garnered a challenging moment for our profession,” of the NY Times stood out. His five-part in The Silurians Press Club’s Excellence President’s Choice Award for a photo and said David A. Andelman, president of report examined in detail the predatory In Journalism Awards. text essay that seems like something from The Silurians Press Club through June lending empires and lax government Newsday reporters and trained another era in this time of Covid virus of this year. “In our first Zoom Awards oversight that exploited thousands of investigators hired by the Long Island and social distancing. For “Welcome to Gala, it is our privilege to recognize an hard working, largely immigrant cab newspaper spent three years uncovering the Party,” the Times dispatched 20 of extraordinary collection of the best and drivers in New York City, Chicago and evidence of widespread discriminatory its photographers in the summer of 2019 brightest, paying tribute to all those who elsewhere. Drivers were bankrupted and treatment of minorities by real estate to attend and record the fun at 65 block each day give so much of their talent and many families financially ruined by the agencies on Long Island. Newsday’s parties throughout the five boroughs. energy to keep us informed and in touch purchase of overpriced taxi medallions. 45,000 word, 16-part report found that What resulted was an extraordinary with our world.” Several drivers committed suicide. The agents accommodated white potential series of photographs that captured the In the competition, The New York Times did more than 600 interviews buyers but denied equal service to joy of New Yorkers celebrating with Times won six Medallions and three and their data bases examined more minorities, directing white and minority food, music, dancing and camaraderie. Merit (runner-up) awards. Newsday than 10,000 taxi medallion sales, 3,000 buyers to different neighborhoods and One block in New York City can be a won three Medallions and eight Merit bankruptcies and more than 500 loans. warning white buyers that the schools world unto itself, the photos revealed, awards, The Record/northjersey.com and This fine piece of journalism exposed a in predominantly minority communities with people from many nations and The City, an online publication, each won public disgrace. were not up to standard. The study found professions living together in harmony. two Medallions and one Merit award. The In the Breaking News category, that black home buyers received disparate It is sad to note that similar festivities following media outlets each won one The New York Times and The Record/ treatment by agents 49 percent of the would have brought opprobrium down Medallion: The Intercept, the New York northjersey.com both won Medallions. time. For Hispanics the rate was 39 on the celebrants in the summer of 2020. Post, Vanity Fair, Type Investigations, The Times won for J. David Goodman’s percent and, for Asians, 19 percent. Because of the coronavirus, The the Asbury Park Press, the Journal-News/ coverage of Amazon’s abrupt cancellation “Long Island Divided” included more Silurians Press Club cancelled its annual lohud.com, WABC TV Eyewitness News, of its plan to create a corporate campus than 35 video elements, one of them awards dinner and feted the winners at a News 12 New Jersey, Financial Planning. Continued on Page 4 COMMENTARY: Pitchforks in the Newsroom BY ANTHONY MANCINI ed Poston sat on a bench in the county courthouse at Sumner, TMississippi in September, 1955, jotting notes on the trial of Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, accused killers of the black teen Emmet Till. A ceiling fan whirred above his head. A local spectator approached. Having noticed the reporter’s press card and also remarked Poston’s unmistakably black face, the man drawled, “Hey, son, what newspaper you write for?” The lanky and courtly Dean of Black Journalists gave a laconic reply: “The New York Post.” “Is that there a Negra paper?” Poston peered impishly at the man over his spectacles and said, “Let me see, if a man has a drop of Negro blood in his veins does that make him a Negro?” The questioner did not hesitate: “Yup.” “Then it is a Negro newspaper because In Breaking News Photography, the Medallion went to William Farrington of the New York Post for his exclu- I am the drop of Negro blood on the New sive photograph of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as he was being wheeled out of the Metropolitan Correction York Post.” Center where he had committed suicide only hours before. Continued on Page 3 PAGE 2 SILURIAN NEWS SEPTEMBER 2020 President’s Report WNBC’S DIENST TO RECEIVE KIHSS AWARD Dear Silurians: I am honored to take office as your new president. I didn’t anticipate having to FOR CAREER AS A REPORTER, MENTOR do the job from this computer desk, but, mmy-winner Jonathan Dienst, journalists. The Kihss Award will be the hey, life is full of challenges. The Silu- who has been covering New latest honor racked up by Dienst, whose rians Press Club isn’t about to let a few York City and its environs as work has often received national and local stray germs deter her from her destiny. E We will plunge ahead, first with a Zoom a television reporter for close to three acclaim. Last year, he and his team won program Sept. 16 featuring two award decades, has been named this year’s the Edward R. Murrow Award, pre- winners: WNBC reporter Jon Dienst, recipient of the Silurians’ prestigious sented by the Radio Television Digital who will receive our Kihss Award for a Peter Kihss Award. Dienst is the chief News Association, for their coverage of career in which he took the time to mentor investigative reporter for NBC 4 New local government in North Bergen, N.J. younger reporters; and Rachel Sherman, who will receive our Duggan Award after York (WNBC), as well as a contributing Dienst is a 1990 graduate of Colgate being selected by the CUNY Journalism correspondent for NBC News. At WNBC, University. A year later, he received his School as the student who did the best job Dienst and his investigative team have master’s degree from Columbia Univer- of covering New York City and environs. specialized in breaking major stories on sity’s Graduate School of Journalism See stories in this Silurian News to learn topics that include terrorism, political and had a brief stint as a reporter at more about them. That Sept. 16 luncheon without lunch corruption, corporate scandals and crime. Newsday before joining WSAV-TV, an will be the start of a new season in which He also files for the Today Show, NBC NBC affiliate in Savannah, Ga., where we present a monthly program starring Nightly News, MSNBC and CNBC, and he covered the city’s skyrocketing mur- some of your favorite journalists. The has appeared on Dateline. JONATHAN DIENST der rate and several police corruption October virtual get-together will feature Dienst will be honored at a Silurian scandals. In 1992, he was on board for Times film critic A.O. Scott, who will Zoom event at noon on Wednesday, investigation as well as the 2005 London the launch of New York 1 News and fulfill a commitment he made to speak to us last spring. Sept. 16. bombings. played a major role in the station’s Let me tell you a bit about myself. Dienst helped to lead WNBC’s cov- The Kihss Award, first presented by coverage of the 1993 World Trade After matriculating at the Columbia Grad erage of the investigation into the Sept. the Silurians in 1986, is given to a re- Center bombing. From 1996 to 2001, School of Journalism, I worked for a cou- 11 terror attacks, the anthrax attacks and porter who exemplifies the spirit of the Dienst was at WPIX/Channel 11 News, ple years as an investigative reporter for the crash of American Airlines flight 587 late New York Times legend for whom it covering police and the courts, politics a New Jersey newspaper. Having won an is named.