2009 Media Stuttering Award Winners
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jane Fraser
E-mail: info@stutteringhelp.org [1]
Stuttering Foundation Announces
2009 Journalism Award Winners
Media Awards Celebrate 18th Year
MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Stuttering Foundation has announced its 2009 Awards for Excellence in news reporting. The winning entries successfully enhanced public understanding of this complex speech disorder during the past year. "Journalists in a variety of media have done an outstanding job of focusing on the causes and treatment of stuttering over the past year," said Jane Fraser, president of the 62-year-old nonprofit foundation. "We were particularly pleased this year to see an increased focus on young people." Three distinguished journalists are honored for their outstanding contributions. They are:
Category: Daily Newspapers
First Place: Martha Phifer, The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida. "Take control of stuttering." The English and Spanish articles give readers the tools needed to identify stuttering and offers useful advice on how to help children overcome stuttering. These articles provide different points of view on the problem, offer lots of resources for help, and reach a large Hispanic audience.
Second Place: Kit Bradshaw, Jupiter Courier, Stuart, Florida. "Kids who stutter don't want to be defined by their speech", a multimedia presentation, provides readers with positive and accurate information about stuttering through the viewpoint of two teens. Speech-language pathologist Liz Blake shares accurate information with viewers.
Third Place: Jill Moon, The Telegraph, Alton, Illinois. "Don't stifle stutterers" Moon focused on help for classroom teachers with students who stutter including resources at the local library.
Category: Television
Honorary First Place: Producer Diana Montano and Telemundo TV for their timely segment on stuttering, targeting Spanish-speaking parents with help nationwide. This excellent segment featured speech-language pathologist Lisette Betancourt of Miami Children's Hospital.
The awards are being announced today, the first day of National Stuttering Awareness Week, May 11-17. San Diego Charger Darren Sproles leads this year's awareness campaign. Among other famous people who stutter are VP Joe Biden, actor James Earl Jones, 20/20's John Stossel, and basketball star Kenyon Martin. A complete list of famous people who stutter can be found at / [2].
The Stuttering Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Memphis, Tenn., that has worked toward the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering since 1947. For more information, call toll-free 800-992-9392 or visit www.stutteringhelp.org [2].
More than 3 million Americans stutter. For myths about stuttering, click here [3].