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Population Institute Names 2007 Global Media Award Winners

October 24, 2007 - 3:34 PM CDT

Population Institute Names 2007 Global Media Award Winners WASHINGTON – A U.S. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, a television news reporter from the Philippines and a radio show host from Cameroon are among the 12 recipients of the Population Institute’s 2007 Global Media Awards for Excellence in Population Reporting. The awards will be presented December 5 at a ceremony in the Rayburn House of Representatives Office Building here.

Joel Pett, an editorial cartoonist who has been with the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader since 1984, will be recognized for a number of his cartoons on population issues that have appeared in hundreds of U.S. newspapers and magazines,

MelClaire Sy Delfin, a television reporter with the Philippines’ GMA Network, Inc., has won in the Best Individual Reporting category, for two in-depth investigative reports, "The Forbidden Games Filipino Children Play" and "When Wells Run Dry: A Tragedy Looming Large."

Enie Cecile of Cameroon will receive the Best Electronic Commentary award for her show, "Social Forum," which raises awareness of a wide range of population and environmental issues including protecting the rights of indigenous people, exploration for potable water and ozone depletion.

Newsweek magazine science columnist Sharon Begley will be honored for Best Population/Environmental Reporting Effort for her article, "Global Warming Deniers: A Well-Funded Machine," which appeared in the August 6, 2007 edition of the magazine. Her report underscores the preponderance of scientific evidence that human activity is the primary catalyst behind global warming.

"Youth Alert! Real Man/Real Woman," a music video special produced by the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) program of Malawi, is the winner in the Best Combined Media Effort category. The winning entry was launched as a mass media and interpersonal communications campaign to encourage Malawian youth to delay their sexual debut. BCC is operated by Population Services International and core funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Jim Motavalli, editor of the national environmental bimonthly, E Magazine, will receive the Best Magazine Article award for his comprehensive report showing that falling birth rates are not universal and that, while declining in industrialized countries, they remain high in many countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Inter Press Service (IPS), headquartered in Rome, Italy, will be cited as the Most Conscientious News Service for its news and analyses of events and global processes affecting the economic, social and political development of people and nations, including the consequences of high fertility in the world’s poorest countries.

RH Reality Check will receive the Best Electronic Forum award for its commitment to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. The web site is an easily accessible on line resource for evidence-based information, provocative commentary and interactive dialogue on these issues.

Ben Merens, host of the Wisconsin Public Radio Ideas Network program, "At Issue with Ben Merens," will be recognized for the Best Radio Talk Show. The program is dedicated to in-depth examinations of current events and hard news through interviews with expert guests, policymakers, commentators and authors.

The Best Editorial Support award will be presented to The Sun of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for its support of population, environmental and development issues. An example is the April 18, 2007 editorial, "War against poverty shows some successes," which convincingly links overwhelming poverty in the southern hemisphere with rapid population.

Dr. Richard Grossman, a Colorado gynecologist and columnist for the Durango Herald, has been named Best Columnist for his provocative long-running "Population Matters" columns. His column, "Effects of poverty create the most haunting images of India," recounting his personal realization of the connection between leprosy and poverty is illustrative of his efforts to bring development and population issues to the attention of his readers.

The Population Media Center of Shelburne, Vermont, will be recognized as the Best Electronic Communications Service for its original entertainment-education television and radio dramas, featuring family planning, gender equality and reproductive health issues."These Global Media Award recipients have helped to create public awareness of population issues through their dedicated efforts," said Lawrence Smith, Jr., president of the Population Institute. "We are hoping that these awards will direct much-needed attention to the importance of reducing rapid human growth and achieving a world population in balance with a healthy global environment."

The Population Institute is an international, educational, non-profit organization that seeks to voluntarily reduce excessive population growth, through universal access to family planning information, education and services. Established in 1969, the Institute, with members in 172 countries is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Funding for the Population Institute comes from foundations, corporations and individual gifts. The Institute does not seek or receive financial support from the U.S. government.