Greenhouse, Wheeler and Green Win Major Journalism Prizes
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| Marcy Wheeler |
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| Steven Greenhouse |
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| James Green |
One of the few remaining labor writers for a major newspaper, a blogger who writes about the workers’ side of the economic crisis and a labor historian are among the winners of the 2009 Sidney Hillman Foundation Journalism Awards.
The annual awards were first presented 1950. Now presented in six categories, the Hillman awards are among the most prestigious given to journalists, photographers, writers and public figures whose work fosters social and economic justice. The foundation is named for Hillman, former president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which merged with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.
The awards will be presented in a May 27 ceremony at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.
This year’s winners include Marcy Wheeler, who writes the emptywheel blog on firedoglake.com. Wheeler consistently demonstrates the investigative skills that show what bloggers and those using online tools are uniquely capable of doing. Her keen appreciation to detail and strong empathy with working people shows in her blogs and other writing.
In its description of Wheeler, the Hillman Foundation notes that she has “produced outstanding coverage of the American auto industry crisis.”
Combining her background in the industry with a deep commitment to American workers, her depth of analysis was unrivaled.
Wheeler recently made the front page of The New York Times after she became the first person to notice that a newly released Justice Department memo revealed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had been waterboarded 183 times in one month. Her live blogging from the Scooter Libby trial in 2007 is widely regarded as one of the seminal moments in online journalism, the foundation says.
Her fans and supporters recently set a goal to raise $150,000 to allow Wheeler to blog full-time and also to support another investigative blogger to work with her and a researcher to help them. Click here to donate to the fund.
