Congratulations are in order. I just received this press release.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Victoria Benitez, Columbia University
212-854-6732, vbenitez@columbia.edu
Sam Quinones Wins Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s 70th
Annual Maria Moors Cabot Prize for Outstanding Reporting on Latin
America and the Caribbean
NEW YORK–The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has
announced the 2008 winners of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize for
outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean. In its
seventieth year and the oldest international journalism award, the Cabot
Prize honors journalists who have covered the Western Hemisphere and
furthered inter-American understanding.
“It’s very appropriate that on the 70th anniversary of the Cabot
Prizes, this year’s winners exemplify the very qualities the founders of
the awards had in mind–promoting understanding in the Americas, making
the rest of the world understandable to the Americas, fighting for a
free press and standing up to entrenched interests” said Nicholas
Lemann, dean of the Journalism School.
Among the 2008 gold medalists is Sam Quinones, general assignment
reporter for the LOS ANGELES TIMES and author of TRUE TALES FROM ANOTHER
MEXICO: THE LYNCH MOB, THE POPSICLE KINGS, CHALINO, AND THE BRONX and
ANTONIO’S GUN AND DELFINO’S DREAM: TRUE STORIES OF MEXICAN MIGRATION,
both published by the University of New Mexico Press.
Other gold medalists include: Carmen Aristegui Flores, anchor, CNN en
Español and columnist for Mexico’s REFORMA newspaper; Michael Smith,
senior writer, BLOOMBERG MARKETS magazine; and Gustavo Sierra,
international news editor for Argentina’s CLARÃN newspaper.
Mr. Quinones’s achievements are described on the award citation by
the Maria Moor Cabot Prize board members.
“Sam Quinones, general assignment reporter for the LOS ANGELES TIMES,
writes with an exceptional eye for cultural and personal details that
delves into the humanity and sociology of his subjects, the places they
live and their experiences,” reads the citation. “Quinones’
original, empathetic and patiently crafted, on-the-ground reporting has
undoubtedly contributed to better understanding of life in Mexico and
the special challenges of crime, drugs, poverty and racial integration
faced by underprivileged Latino communities in the U.S.”
Quinones’ articles on immigration have appeared in the LOS ANGELES
TIMES, BALTIMORE SUN, the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
MS. MAGAZINE, and other major U.S. newspapers and magazines. Quinones
has spoken about his research at eighteen universities, on National
Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition,”
“Fresh Air,” and “Latino USA,” and on “The News Hour”
with Jim Lehrer. In 2001, Quinones’ first book, a collection of
non-fiction stories about contemporary Mexico, TRUE TALES FROM ANOTHER
MEXICO received favorable reviews in THE ECONOMIST, LIBRARY JOURNAL, and
many other media. In 2007, Quinones’ sophomore effort, ANTONIO’S GUN
AND DELFINO’S DREAM: True Tales of Mexican Migration, garnered praise in
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, among other national
media. The book is now available in paperback.
Quinones, a native of Claremont, California, graduated from the
University of California-Berkeley with bachelor’s degrees in economics
and American history. He lives in southern California.
Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger will present the Cabot Prizes at a
dinner banquet Thursday, October 16, on the University’s Morningside
Heights campus in New York City. Each winner will receive a gold medal
and a $5,000 honorarium. News organizations that employ the winners will
receive bronze plaques.
To learn more about the prizes and this year’s winners, visit
www.journalism.columbia.edu/cabot.
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MORE ABOUT THE CABOT PRIZE: The Maria Moors Cabot Prize was founded in
1938 by the late Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston as a memorial to his
wife. Since then, 256 Cabot Prizes and 56 special citations have gone to
journalists from more than 30 countries in the Americas. Prize winners
are nominated by the board of the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes and then
approved by the university’s Board of Trustees. Among the eight members
of the 2008 Cabot Board are university professors and administrators,
newspaper correspondents, magazine writers, and a former political
spokeswoman. Â Five of the eight board members are former Cabot Prize
recipients.
