Finalists named for Mirror Awards

Twenty-six finalists in seven categories have been named in the fourth annual Mirror Awards competition for excellence in media industry reporting. The competition, sponsored by Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, drew nearly 200 entries.

“Those of us who served as judges were impressed by the depth and variety of entries,” says Joel Kaplan, associate dean in the Newhouse School, a member of the Mirror Awards Advisory Committee and a first-tier judge. “While traditional journalism outlets like Vanity Fair and The New York Times continue to hold a mirror to their media colleagues, they have been joined by such content providers as 5280 Magazine in Denver, Politco.com, Philadelphia magazine and Financial Times.”

Finalists, chosen by a group of journalists and journalism educators, are:

Best Single Article—Traditional Media

• Steven Johnson, “How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live” (TIME)
• Maximillian Potter, “All The News that’s Fit to be Killed” (5280 Magazine)
• Chuck Salter, “Can Hulu Save Traditional TV?” (Fast Company)

Best Single Article—Digital Media

• Philip Bump, “Revisiting the New York Times’ 2001 ‘Year in Ideas’” (Mediaite)
• Michael Calderone, “Fox teas up a tempest” (Politico.com)
• Megan Garber, “Common Knowledge” (Columbia Journalism Review)

 Best Profile—Traditional Media

• Michael Callahan, “And Starring Michael Smerconish, As Himself” (Philadelphia)
• Andrew Goldman, “How Could This Happen to Annie Leibovitz?” (New York Magazine)
• John Koblin, “Mr. Meacham’s Magazine” (The New York Observer)
• Evan Osnos, “The Forbidden Zone” (The New Yorker)
• Brian Stelter, “From Guantánamo to Desk at Al Jazeera” (The New York Times)

 Best Profile—Digital Media

• Nancy Jo Sales, “The Unreal Rise of Jon and Kate Gosselin” (Vanity Fair)
• Justin Peters, “Man About Town” (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Justin Peters, “Burger Meister” (Columbia Journalism Review)

 Best Commentary—Traditional Media

• David Carr (The New York Times)
  • “Let’s Invent an iTunes for News”
  • “A Triumph of Avoiding the Traps”
  • “Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal”
  • “After a Year of Ruin, Some Hope”
• Michael Kinsley (The Washington Post, The New York Times)
  • “Pick Your Poison, er, Publisher”
  • “The Shaky War on Errorism”
  • “Life After Newspapers”
  • “You Can’t Sell News by the Slice”
• James Poniewozik (TIME)
  • “CNBC Under Fire: Sticking Up for the Big Guy?”
  • “Glenn Beck: The Fears of a Clown”
  • “Balloon Boy’s Lesson: The New American Dream”
  • “Polarized News: The Media’s Moderate Bias”
• James Wolcott (Vanity Fair)
  • “Final-Exit Strategies”
  • “What’s Wrong with Washington?”
  • “Mourning with Larry”
  • “I’m a Culture Critic…Get Me Out of Here!
• Michael Wolff (Vanity Fair)
  • “The Power and the Story”
  • “Politico’s Washington Coup”
  • “Post Modern”
  • “Rupert to Internet: It’s War!”

 Best Commentary—Digital Media

• Eric Alterman (Center for American Progress)
  • “Think Again: Remember Real Journalism”
  • “Think Again: Mice, Playing: The Decline of Skeptical Journalism”
  • “Think Again: The End of Local Reporting?”
  • “Think Again: Conflicts of Interest by the Wealthy and for the Wealthy”
• Matthew Pressman (Vanity Fair)
  • “Why Time and Newsweek Will Never Be The Economist”
  • “Media Darwinism: Which Sites Will Survive?”
  • “A Media Guy Asks: Why Do They Hate Us?”
  • “Is Fox Business Network a Lost Cause?”
• Craig Silverman (Columbia Journalism Review)
  • “Violating the ‘Contract of Correction’”  
  • “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong”
  • “The New Great American Pastime”
  • “Speed Demons

Best In-Depth Piece—Traditional Media

• Matthew Garrahan, “The rise and fall of MySpace” (The Financial Times)
• Adam L. Penenberg, “Amazon Taps Its Inner Apple” (Fast Company)
• Zachary M. Seward, “AP’s online strategy” (Nieman Journalism Lab)
• Dean Starkman, “Power Problem” (Columbia Journalism Review)

The winners will be feted at a luncheon ceremony on Thursday, June 10, from 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, Manhattan. CBS News’ Katie Couric will serve as emcee. Lorraine E. Branham, dean of the Newhouse School, will host the event.

For sponsorship levels, and to register, see the online registration form. Members of the media who wish to attend and cover the event should contact Wendy Loughlin at (315) 443-2785 or wsloughl@syr.edu. For more information, contact Jean Brooks at (315) 443-5711 or mirror@syr.edu.