Excellence in Educational Journalism Award

MEDIA RELEASE

2004 TEFANZ / NZCER Excellence in Educational Journalism Award Announced

Ruth Laugesen, reporter at the Sunday-Star Times, has been awarded the 2004 Excellence in Educational Journalism Award sponsored jointly by the Teacher Education Forum of Aotearoa New Zealand (TEFANZ) and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER).

The award, and a cheque for $2000, was presented to Ruth Laugesen today by Minister of Education Hon. Trevor Mallard at the TEFANZ 2004 national conference held at the Auckland College of Education.

The winning entry, In a Class of Their Own, explored whether boys do better at single sex or co-ed schools and was first published by the Sunday-Star Times on 14 September 2003. The article was based on original research into an area in which there is high public interest but a lack of information.

The judging panel commented that Ruth Laugesen’s feature was a high quality piece of writing about a nationally important issue in education, written from a fresh perspective which would appeal to a large range of readers.

The two main criteria used by the judges were a significant contribution to community understanding and debate of issues in education, and journalistic excellence. Entries were received from radio, television and the print media with the judges commenting that the standard of journalism and presentation of topics was very high.

The judging panel for the award comprised:
- Dr Stuart Middleton, Executive Director Student Affairs, Manukau Institute of Technology
- Ruth Mansell, Chairperson, New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

The inaugural award, sole-sponsored by TEFANZ, was presented to Gael Woods of Radio New Zealand in 2002, while the TEFANZ / NZCER 2003 award was presented to John Gerritsen, editor of New Zealand Education Review.

ENDS

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