|
08/15/05
AP
announces nine staff winners for its 12th annual Gramling
Awards
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press has named nine staff members
from around the world as winners of its 2005 Gramling Awards
for excellence.
The honorees include journalists who specialize in handling
fast-developing stories and cover international conflicts
as editors, reporters and photographers; technical specialists
who organize major events, write innovative software programs
that enable the AP to create new services and solve problems;
and, an office manager in Pakistan who keeps the bureau running
in times of crisis.
"This year's Gramling winners are exceptional, world-class
role models for AP and for journalism," said AP President
and CEO Tom Curley. "Their individual and collective
contributions are stunning."
The Oliver S. Gramling Awards, now in their 12th year, are
given annually to staff members whose work and initiative
contribute significantly to the news report and to overall
AP operations. The awards are named for Oliver S. Gramling,
an AP newsman and executive who in 1941 developed AP's first
radio wire. Gramling bequeathed his estate to AP when he died
in 1992, directing that it be used for AP staff members nominated
for excellence by their colleagues. A committee of AP bureau
and department managers selected the winners.
This year's winners:
-- $10,000 Gramling Journalism Awards: Washington, D.C.-based
Special Correspondent David Espo for a body of work as a "deadline
master" who takes command of fast-moving stories at critical
moments in history, including Sept. 11 and the two wars in
Iraq; and, Robert Reid, AP's correspondent at large, who has
been at the forefront of editing and reporting on some of
the biggest international conflict stories, from the Balkans
to Afghanistan to Iraq.
-- $10,000 Gramling Achievement Awards: Services & Technology
program manager Stan Miller for automating essential functions
that otherwise would take thousands of hours to do by hand
and writing programs enabling the AP to create new services;
and, Kansas City-based Director of Special Events Bud Weydert
of Services & Technology for his perennial successful
planning of major events such as the Olympics and political
conventions.
-- $3,000 Gramling Spirit Awards: San Jose, Calif., technology
writer Matthew Fordahl for routinely going above and beyond
the call of duty to make his mark as an innovator and problem-solver
on technological projects and issues; Islamabad, Pakistan
office manager Zaman Kazmi for using his skills as accountant,
computer technician, engineer, electrician and salesman to
keep the bureau functioning during turbulent times so the
news always gets out; and, Manila chief photographer Alberto
"Bullit" Marquez, for setting the standard in the
Philippines for working across all media platforms to make
the AP shine during crises.
-- $3,000 Gramling Scholarship Awards: Hartford, Conn., education
and statehouse reporter Noreen Gillespie will use her scholarship
toward a master's degree in public policy at Trinity College
in Hartford with the goal of gaining in-depth knowledge and
understanding to help explain complex issues to readers; and,
Services & Technology development manager Steve Reseigh
will use his scholarship toward a master's degree in computer
science at New York University to learn ways of producing
software more efficiently while making it more reliable.
Founded in 1848, The Associated Press is the world's oldest
and largest newsgathering organization, providing content
to more than 15,000 news outlets with a daily reach of 1 billion
people around the world. Its multimedia services are distributed
by satellite and the Internet to more than 120 nations. The
AP corporate Internet site is at www.ap.org
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
|
