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Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award

Deadline for entries: June 22

(If you're looking for the Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing, it can be found here)

The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation presents the Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award to honor a person or persons who have fought to protect and preserve one or more of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Download entry form
Click here to download the entry form.

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2012 Award Winner
Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald
Read press release

Previous Winners
2011  The Associated Press
2010  Renee Dudley, Island Packet of Bluffton, S.C.
2009  Jill Riepenhoff and Todd Jones, The Columbus Dispatch
2008  Jim Schaefer & M.L. Elrick, Detroit Free Press
2007  Joe Adams, The Florida Times-Union
2006  Terry Francke, Peter Scheer and the California First Amendment Coalition
2005  Kate Martin and the Center for National Security Studies
2004  Dan Christensen, Miami Daily Business Review
2003  Seth Rosenfeld, San Francisco Chronicle
2002  Dr. William Lawbaugh, St. Mary's College

Mr. Pulliam, who died in January 1999, was publisher of The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News until his death and was well-known for consistently supporting activities which educated the public about First Amendment rights and values. The Foundation has established this annual award to honor those committed to the same goals and as a tribute to the professional contributions that he made to journalism.

About the Award

Annually at the Society of Professional Journalists National Convention, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation will honor an individual, group of individuals or organization with a $10,000 cash award and an engraved crystal. The honoree(s) also will receive transportation (airfare and two-night hotel stay) to the national convention. (Additional travel costs are the responsibility of the award recipient).

Eligibility

Nominations are open to any person, persons or organization in the U.S. or its territories who have worked to protect the basic rights provided by the First Amendment. Honorees do not have to be journalists. In fact, the Foundation encourages recognition of those outside the journalism profession for their First Amendment efforts and initiatives, such as, but not limited to, public officials, members of the legal profession, scholars, educators, librarians, students and ordinary citizens.

Nominations

Nominations for the annual award may be made by anyone, inside or outside of the journalism profession.

Nominations should include:

— Completed entry form
— Three signed letters of nomination or one letter endorsed by three individuals or organizations.
— Nomination letter should detail the specific efforts taken on behalf of the protection of First Amendment rights; obstacles and difficulties encountered; and impact made as a result of those efforts how they have contributed to the protection of the First Amendment.
— Supporting materials may consist of published or broadcast materials, documentation of service or lifetime achievement or any appropriate materials.
— Entries become the property of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. They may be republished for general distribution or used to publicize the award.
— Nominations are automatically considered for two years. The judging panel will review the nomination the year of submission and the following year.
— There is NO entry fee.

Submission Instructions

Nominations should be submitted as one complete PDF document. Complete the nomination form (fillable PDF) and save it. If you have Word documents to submit, save them as PDFs. Use this PDF merge site to combine your files. On this site, you will choose each of your PDF documents and merge them together (all files must be PDFs in order merge them). Open the new merged PDF and save it in this format: Last Name_Pulliam First Amend 2013. Finally, upload your merged PDF in the upload box to the right.

Combine your PDFs in this order:

— Entry Form
— Nomination Letter(s)
— Supporting Materials

For More Information

For more information contact SPJ Headquarters at 317/927-8000 or by e-mail: awards@spj.org. If selected, applicant should consult with their financial and/or tax adviser. Any tax implications associated with the award are the responsibility of the award recipient.

The Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award is a program of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. More about Mr. Pulliam’s distinguished career can be found in The Indianapolis Star’s online library.