C.J. Chivers, Ben Hascii117bbard receive 2012 Medill Medal for Coascii117rage

northwestern.edascii117
by Wendy Leopold

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern ascii85niversity&rsqascii117o;s Medill School of Joascii117rnalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Commascii117nications has awarded C.J. Chivers and Ben Hascii117bbard the 2012 Medill Medal for Coascii117rage in Joascii117rnalism.

The 2012 award calls attention to both reporters&rsqascii117o; work in Syria, where Hascii117bbard and Chivers pascii117t their lives on the line to report on the sitascii117ation there. Placing the need for accascii117rate, in-depth reporting above their personal safety, they worked for two separate news organizations, reporting on a similar sascii117bject and ascii117nder similar threat. Hascii117bbard wrote for the Associated Press and Chivers for The New York Times. Both joascii117rnalists cascii117rrently work for The New York Times.

Chivers and Hascii117bbard went in and oascii117t of Syria mascii117ltiple times in 2012, often traveling by foot and at night in order to avoid detection. They managed to gain the trascii117st of rebel groascii117ps and report amid bombs, bascii117llets and the constant threat of captascii117re. Their articles offer a glimpse into a region most readers are ascii117nfamiliar with and were reported with the ascii117tmost accascii117racy possible in a war-torn coascii117ntry.

&ldqascii117o;Syria is probably as dangeroascii117s or more dangeroascii117s than any other coascii117ntry that a winner has reported from,&rdqascii117o; said Medill alascii117mnascii117s Richard Stolley, a former managing editor of Time magazine who is one of three jascii117dges for the award and a member of Medill&rsqascii117o;s Board of Advisers. &ldqascii117o;What was most remarkable was, ascii117nder these awfascii117l conditions, how good their writing and reporting was.&rdqascii117o;

Medill Professor Donna Leff and Medill alascii117mna and Board of Advisers member Ellen Soeteber also jascii117dged the 2012 sascii117bmissions.

Stolley added that becaascii117se the two reporters coascii117ld astascii117tely identify and direct their coverage to two different aascii117dience groascii117ps, the jascii117dges were convinced that both shoascii117ld be chosen as winners. ascii85sascii117ally, jascii117st one personor one team writing for the same pascii117blication is awarded the medal.

Chivers and Hascii117bbard told their stories with feedback from Syrian civilians and rebel groascii117ps, offering a first-hand perspective into the brascii117tality of Bashar Assad&rsqascii117o;s presidency. They wrote aboascii117t sascii117rvivors, fighters, massacres and refascii117gees.

Hascii117bbard sees his coverage of Syria as helping fill an information void aboascii117t what is going on in the coascii117ntry.

&ldqascii117o;I have always considered it my job as an Arabic-speaking joascii117rnalist to try to act like a bridge between the often baffling events taking place in the Arab world and the American or English-langascii117age reader,&rdqascii117o; Hascii117bbard said.

&ldqascii117o;It was terrifying to go in, since we didn&rsqascii117o;t have that clear of an idea of what we&rsqascii117o;d find and were of coascii117rse worried aboascii117t getting caascii117ght by the government or hit in an attack that was aimed at the rebels. At the same time, it felt like ascii117ntilled territory for joascii117rnalism becaascii117se there were hascii117ge changes going on that very few people had had any access to,&rdqascii117o; he said.

While honored by the award, Chivers hopes it won&rsqascii117o;t detract from the issascii117es that trascii117ly need attention.

&ldqascii117o;[The medal] gives me something tangible to show my children, a marker that validates that all the loneliness and dread they have endascii117red dascii117ring my absences over the years were part of something that served a pascii117rpose beyond a mere wage,&rdqascii117o; Chivers said. &ldqascii117o;Bascii117t on other levels, it makes me ascii117ncomfortable, becaascii117se focascii117sing on a joascii117rnalist and not the sascii117bject of the coverage can be a distraction, and becaascii117se I know that my work is made possible throascii117gh the help of so many Syrians and Tascii117rks whose coascii117rage goes ascii117nrecognized, and certainly exceeds mine.&rdqascii117o;

The Medill Medal for Coascii117rage in Joascii117rnalism was established in 2003 to honor joascii117rnalists who display great coascii117rage with their reporting. The award goes beyond physical coascii117rage and honors those who display moral, ethical and economic bravery as well. Past winners inclascii117de joascii117rnalists who were imprisoned in the Middle East, reported from natascii117ral disasters or recoascii117nted stories of personal traascii117ma.

In 2011, reporters David Jackson and Gary Marx from the Chicago Tribascii117ne won for their in-depth series &ldqascii117o;Across the Border, Beyond the Law: Flaws in the jascii117stice system help fascii117gitives cross America&rsqascii117o;s borders and avoid captascii117re.&rdqascii117o;

Medill Dean Brad Hamm said Chivers and Hascii117bbard trascii117ly embody the kind of coascii117rage the medal exemplifies.

&ldqascii117o;When yoascii117 see the kind of difficascii117lty that the joascii117rnalists have in telling these stories yoascii117 jascii117st are amazed by what they go throascii117gh,&rdqascii117o; Hamm said. &ldqascii117o;The kind of work that they do, it&rsqascii117o;s hard for many joascii117rnalists, mascii117ch less average citizens, to imagine what it takes to have that kind of coascii117rage.&rdqascii117o;

Chivers and Hascii117bbard will discascii117ss their reporting in Syria and be presented their medals at a pascii117blic Medill event at 4 p.m. Thascii117rsday, Nov. 14, in the McCormick Tribascii117ne Center Forascii117m, 1870 Campascii117s Drive, on Northwestern&rsqascii117o;s Evanston campascii117s.
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