Please check their website for the resources.

RTNDA’s website has all the information. The deadline to apply for the 2016-2017 award is May 31.

The report is an excellent compendium of information about contemporary national security reporting in America.  It draws some of its information from the book “Whistleblowers, Leaks and the Media: The First Amendment and National Security” that was published last year. The book was compiled and edited by Medill Adjunct Lecturer Paul Rosenzweig and Medill professors Ellen Shearer and Timothy J. McNulty.   Rosenzweig also was interviewed for the PEN/America report and is quoted in the report

The Joe Galloway Award

David Wood of Huffington Post for a powerful, fascinating, thoroughly reported, humanized and particularly well-written, well-produced three-part multimedia package examining the prevalence, complexity and impact of “moral injury” that plagues so many who have fought sought since 9/11. “Moral injury is a relatively new concept that seems to describe what many feel: a sense that their fundamental understanding of right and wrong has been violated, and the grief, numbness or guilt that often ensues,” Wood wrote in his introduction to the series. “However we individually feel about the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, these enduring moral wounds, to young Americans who fought on our behalf, must be counted among the ultimate costs.”

The James Crawley Award

Lance Bacon, reporter; Andrew deGrandpre, digital news director; Alex Neill, executive editor of Military Times, for their investigation into whether a Marine Corps order that removed Marine Corps Times publications from prime locations at the front of base exchanges around the world was the result of reporting it was doing “detailing whistleblower allegations suggesting the service’s commandant, Gen. James Amos, abused his authority and interfered in several high-profile criminal cases.” The order was eventually rescinded and the papers returned to the prime locations, while further Military Times reporting “obtained and authenticated emails linking Amos to the newsstand move, raised troubling questions about the Marine Corps’ attempt to limit troops’ access to an independent news source.”


Overseas Large Newspapers Category:  Betsy Hiel, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review foreign correspondent Betsy Hiel filed a series of eye-opening, deeply reported stories from Iraq in 2014 detailing the people and conditions as ISIS swept toward Baghdad. One of the first Western reporters on the ground after ISIS invaded, she reported on Christians who found temporary refuge from ISIS in an ancient monastery before fleeing as the terrorist group advanced; she explained Kurdish soldiers’ belief that the next target of ISIS is the United States; and she shed light on the sectarian divisions that stand in the way of achieving peace in Iraq.

Overseas Small Newspapers Category: Drew Brooks, Fayetteville Observer

Drew Brooks’ detailed and emotionally stirring series of stories on the Green Berets from Fort Bragg who led the war effort in Afghanistan for 13 years provided an inside glimpse of the lives of Green Beret soldiers deployed to Afghanistan as well as an analysis of why they ended up in such a dominant role and the toll of large numbers of casualties.

Domestic Large Newspapers Category: Mike Wereschagin, Adam Smeltz and Carl Prine, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The two-part series by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review disclosed that emails and documents obtained through a FOIA filed by the paper show that congressional testimony given by Veterans Affairs officials investigating a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that left at least six dead in Pittsburgh was, at the least, obfuscatory and basically contradicted information in the private documents. The work is investigative reporting at its best.

Domestic Small Newspapers Category: This award is shared by Meghann Myers of the Navy Times and Hope Hodge Seck of the Marine Corps Times

Meghann Myers of Navy Times and Hope Hodge Seck of Marine Corps Times separately covered two aspects of a critical gender issues facing today’s military.

Meghann Myers revealed that some of the first women to serve in the submarine force were secretly filmed undressing by their shipmates. The Navy Times story, first reported online, drew immediate attention by Pentagon officials and created national attention.  The commander of the submarine force condemned the tapings as a “breach of trust” and Myers pursued the story and its consequences not only for the sailors but also for the entire service.

Hope Hodge Seck wrote a more complex but equally important Marine Corp Times story about concern that the Marine Corps is under so much pressure to prosecute alleged sexual assaults that the accused are no longer innocent until proved guilty. Sensitive to the reality that sexual assault cases were too easily dismissed in the past, Seck wove actual legal cases with new policy initiatives to explain how the Marines are trying to deal with a significant problem.

Photographer Small Paper Category: Andrew Craft, Fayetteville Observer

Andrew Craft’s collection of domestic and overseas images give a sense of dimension, depth and flexibility as a visual storyteller. Entries included a well-composed, solemnly powerful image of a flag-draped casket being carried; a playful shot of an Army officer horsing around with his young sons before heading on a 9-month deployment and a wide landscape shot of a soldier standing guard over the rugged terrain in Kabul.

Commentary: Marketta Davis, Pensacola News Journal

Marketta Davis is a military brat and military wife whose Pensacola News Journal column, “Military notes,” has an authentic, all-in-the-family tone that is both engaging and enlightening. Writing on everything from stolen valor issues to a 100-year-old veteran reminiscing about World War II, Davis is open in sharing her reactions and feelings and then translating them into larger lessons about military life.

Domestic, Large Broadcast Category: ESPN

ESPN’s compelling Outside the Lines,“Friend Who Fired,” told the story of the Army Rangers involved in the fatal accident that killed Ranger and professional football player Pat Tillman. None of the Army Rangers who fired upon him spoke publicly about the episode until ESPN found Steven Elliott, who agreed to break the silence. William Weinbaum is the producer; Mike Fish and John Barr are the reporters.

Honorable mention: Chas Henry’s “Almost Equal: The U. S Military Three Years After Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” at 99.1 WNEW radio.

Online Reporting: Jeremy Schwartz, Austin-American Statesman

Jeremy Schwartz’ “Lost Opportunity” explores the “failure of good intentions” surrounding an expensive, powerful mobile MRI that was believed to be among the most powerful in the world and was planned to scan the brains of troops before, and after, combat, as part of overall traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress syndrome research by the Veterans Administration as part of its $2 billion in yearly research spending. A “fiasco” is what it proved to be, leading to an “inglorious decline” that included no appreciable research, few actual scans, a chronic lack of technical expertise and a key fatal flaw: moving what was to be a portable machine meant for several bases and hospitals required expensive re-calibration after each move, so it stayed put. Now, “The scanner idles 24 hours a day because it’s more expensive to turn an MRI machine off and on than to keep it running.” One use suggested for the unit that houses it: Housing for lab rats. The online package is crisp, well-written and illustrated and nicely designed with intuitive navigation and flow.  Given the topic, it could well have been deadly dull and bureaucratic, but was not in the least; instead, it was driven by good context, insight, perspective and tight writing.

Blogging: Beth Ford Roth, Home Post

Beth Ford Roth’s “Home Post” blog entry included a diverse and interesting collection of posts, ranging from whether Marines should be able to roll up their sleeves (wives, the blog says, find this sexy; the Marines declared it is OK again to roll them up); an essay from a dad whose sailor son was lost as sea; and a post about famous people who fought on D-Day.

View the response here:

They will spend three months on an investigative and enterprise multimedia project that focuses on whether the United States and the global community are ready for a worldwide health emergency, ranging from another Ebola-type virus to a full-blown pandemic that could potentially kill millions of people. It will be done in conjunction with professional media partners, including VICE News.

The graduate students selected to receive $7,500 McCormick scholarships are Dawnn Anderson, Adriana Cargill, Tanni Deb, Ezra Kaplan, Nicole McGee, Aditya Prakash, Lydia Randall and Kulwant Saluja.

The reporting team will be supervised by Josh Meyer, director of education and outreach for the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative and Medill’s McCormick Lecturer in National Securities Studies.

“This is a fantastic team of highly skilled and talented young journalists, and I’m excited to work with them on an issue of such huge national — and international — importance,” said Meyer, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times who joined Medill in 2010. “Given that the Ebola virus raised serious questions about holes in the global disease surveillance and response safety net, this topic couldn’t be more timely.”

Ellen Shearer, William F. Thomas Professor of Journalism and co-director of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, said she is “thrilled by the possibilities for great reporting and storytelling that this terrific group of students affords us.”

This year’s effort will be the sixth in which Medill collaborates with national media partners to publish a project across all media platforms while emphasizing the use of innovative multimedia and interactive journalistic techniques.

The project, formally known as the National Security Reporting Project, will focus on whether governments and health organizations are taking appropriate steps to respond to a fast-moving and potentially catastrophic virus or other communicable disease. Experts have been warning for years that the lack of U.S. preparedness and funding for responding to emerging global health problems, including Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the avian flu, are helping create one of the most urgent security threats the world has ever seen.

Despite being contained relatively quickly, last year’s devastating Ebola outbreak raised serious questions about whether an effective system of surveillance and response is in place, and whether huge advances in technology are being incorporated into that health safety net.

Experts say the conditions are ripe for another pandemic, or mass outbreak of disease across international borders. With globalization and the ease of international travel, the potential for pandemics to spread far, wide and fast is greater than ever, causing widespread death, destruction, economic chaos and political destabilization. Throughout history, such outbreaks have killed between 300 and 500 million people, according to best estimates. Students will travel globally to report out this story in its many forms.

The fifth quarter specialization program in national security reporting, launched in 2010, is part of Medill’s larger National Security Journalism Initiative, funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Recent topics have included “Hunger Pains,” a comprehensive multimedia series about problems in the U.S. global food aid program that was done in a collaboration with USA Today, and “Deadly Debris,” about the lethal legacy of U.S. landmines and cluster munitions that remain scattered around the world, which was published by GlobalPost. The first National Security Reporting Project in 2010, “Global Warning,” was on the global security implications posed by climate and environmental change. It was published by The Washington Post, distributed by the McClatchy News Service and won a prestigious national award from the Online News Association. All of the projects have helped students launch rewarding and high profile careers.

For more about the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, check out its website at www.nationalsecurityzone.org.

WASHINGTON — Military Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and Northwestern University’s National Security Journalism Initiative sent a joint letter to Army Secretary John McHugh on June 19, requesting the immediate declassification of the investigation into Staff Sgt. Robert Bales’ horrific crimes in Afghanistan in March 2012.

Bales was sentenced to life in prison in August 2013 for murdering 16 Afghan civilians, including many women and children, during two solo nighttime raids in small villages in Kandahar province. The gruesome murders—dubbed the Kandahar massacre—sparked angry protests and forced the U.S. military to temporarily halt combat operations in the region.

“Bales pleaded guilty to his crimes and will spend the rest of his life in prison. His clemency request has been denied and U.S. forces are no longer operating at the combat outposts where he committed his crimes. We see no reason why the investigation should remain classified,” said MRE President Amy McCullough. “The reasons U.S. Central Command gave to some of our members for denying repeated FOIA requests no longer apply, and the public has a right to know if there was anything that could have been done to prevent this tragedy. I sincerely hope Secretary McHugh will do the right thing and declassify this report before his tenure ends.”

“The Pentagon has examined the events leading to Staff Sgt. Robert Bales’ crimes in Kandahar province, but the public has only the military’s word that it has done everything possible to learn from the incidents,” said Ellen Shearer, co-director of Northwestern University’s National Security Journalism Initiative. “The continued lack of transparency in this case is a shameful example of denying the public its right to know the truth about an important, terrible event in the war in Afghanistan.”

The letter reads, as follows:

June 19, 2015

Dear Secretary McHugh,

We write to draw your attention to an important document regarding SSgt. Robert Bales’ crimes in Kandahar province that has been concealed despite his conviction and the historic significance of the atrocities he committed. These obstacles are troubling to Military Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and Northwestern University’s National Security Journalism Initiative. The gravity of Bales’ crimes argues for transparency in all aspects of his case. We ask you for your assistance in declassifying an Army regulation 15-6 investigation into Bales’ killings before your tenure as Army Secretary ends.

Since Bales’ was sentenced to life in prison in August 2013, three news organizations from the Puget Sound region near JB Lewis-McChord have submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests for an Army Regulation 15-6 investigation commissioned to look into whether anything could have been done to prevent Bales’ massacre in March 2012.

The News Tribune of Tacoma, The Seattle Times and NPR Seattle affiliate KUOW have had their FOIA requests denied and their appeals delayed. Normally, investigative documents used during courts-martial may be released through FOIA following the resolution of a case. That has not happened with the Bales 15-6.

U.S. Central Command rejected The News Tribune’s first request for the Bales 15-6 in January 2014. The reasons listed by Central Command included:

• JBLM’s I Corps headquarters had not yet considered Bales’ clemency
• Releasing the 15-6 could jeopardize ongoing operations for frequently deployed
• Releasing the 15-6 could obstruct a law enforcement
• Releasing the 15-6 could impair Bales’ rights to a fair and impartial

The News Tribune filed an appeal to this denial. CENTCOM has not yet considered it. CENTCOM has confirmed that The News Tribune’s appeal is No. 235 in line for further consideration, but has repeated the reasoning it offered to The News Tribune in denying FOIA requests from The Seattle Times and KUOW.

In the 17 months that have passed since CENTCOM’s denial, facts have changed that warrant an immediate reconsideration of CENTCOM’s withholding of the Bales 15-6.

• I Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza has denied Bales’ clemency request and upheld his sentence.
• S. forces are no longer stationed at combat outposts near where Bales committed his massacre, according to open-source news reports published by the Army. Moreover, testimony at Bales’ court-martial revealed how he twice walked out of his outpost to kill civilians. Releasing more information about that aspect of this incident could do no more harm to U.S. forces than has already been done.
• Bales has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison. There is no pending law enforcement investigation that could be influenced by the release of the 15-6.
• The FOIA exemption that protects a defendant’s right to a fair and impartial hearing is intended to ensure that military juries are unbiased. Bales is past the point when a jury may consider evidence in his case. His fate now rests solely with military appeals

Marine Corps Gen. John Allen commissioned the report just after the massacre. He discussed it in press interviews from Kabul, assuring the public the military would do everything it could to learn from Bales’ killings.

“I will be satisfied when I get the report that we have looked closely at the potential contributing factors that might have permitted this event to have unfolded tragically,” Allen told reporters in March 2012, two weeks after the killings.

Bales committed a terrible crime and is serving his sentence. The public and the press still deserve the answers to the questions Allen aired when he announced the 15-6.

Sincerely,

Amy McCullough, MRE President
News Editor, Air Force Magazine

Isaac Cubillos, MRE Vice President
 Editor, Military Media Group

Otto Kreisher, MRE Treasurer
Freelance Reporter

Bryan Bender, MRE Board member
Defense Editor, Politico

Kristina Wong, MRE Board member    
Defense Reporter, The Hill

Dan Lamothe, MRE Board member 
National Security Reporter, The Washington Post

Alex Quade, MRE Board member 
Freelance War Reporter

Greg Mathieson, MRE Board member
Combat Photographer

Jenn Rowell, MRE Board member
Military Reporter, Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune

John Grady, MRE Board member
 Freelance National Security Reporter

Ellen Shearer, Co-Director National Security Journalism Initiative
Professor, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism

Dana Neuts, SPJ President     
Freelance Journalist

Paul Fletcher, SPJ President-Elect
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Karen Peterson, Executive Editor        
The News Tribune

Kathy Best, Editor
The Seattle Times

Patricia Murphy, Military/Veterans Reporter
KUOW

On Friday, Meyer moderated a panel entitled “Future threats: New avenues of investigative reporting in the fast-changing world of emerging global crises.” The talk brought together Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Nelson, VICE News Environmental Editor Robert Eshelman and Pace University Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding Andrew Revkin in conversation about how they are using cutting-edge storytelling tools and technologies to craft narratives about emerging national security issues.

Meyer participated in the conference’s “Career Roundtable” on what employers want to see in job applicants.

Meyer also served as a judge for the 2015 IRE Golden Padlock Award.

Honored to be a judge for this year’s #IRE15 Golden Padlock award for more hostile government agency @IRE_NICAR https://t.co/gpnLFUrDYx

— Josh Meyer (@JoshMeyerDC) June 6, 2015

According to IRE’s website, the award recognizes “the most secretive publicly-funded agency or person in the United States.” This year’s honor went to the Massachusetts State Police.

The Board of Directors and Executive Committee elections were conducted during the group’s annual conference, which drew a crowd of 1,800 journalists from across the globe and featured New York Times reporter and Medill alum James Risen as keynote speaker.

You can view highlights from Risen’s talk via a Storify created by Madison Feller for IRE here:

For more information on IRE, visit the organization’s website here.

WASHINGTON — The National War College, located at the U.S. Army’s Fort Lesley J. McNair base in Washington, opened its doors to students from the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative on May 19, 2015.

Take a peek inside of the prestigious institution, which helps train mid-career military and government-employed civilian leaders in national security strategy.