feldman award

Shedding light on traffic tragedies: Tribune reporter wins Feldman Award

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 16:24:32 +0000

Shedding light on traffic tragedies: Tribune reporter wins Feldman Award Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/23/2024 - 10:24

By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)

Business reporter Sarah Freishtat is no stranger to the challenges of covering transportation in a bustling city like Chicago. So when a fellow Tribune reporter forwarded her an email about a journalism award centered on transportation, submitting one of her stories was a no-brainer.

“I saw what the backstory of the award was, with Casey’s story and what her family was trying to do, and I was really inspired by that,” Freishtat said. “I really appreciated the award’s focus on transportation because it really affects people’s day-to-day lives.”

Her story, “Serious Crashes With Pedestrians and Cyclists Often Fail To Lead to Tickets or Charges: ‘We Can’t Be OK With This,’” explores the issue of vehicular accidents in which victims are injured and no one is charged. It also is the 2024 recipient of the Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting.

The reporting award honors Casey Feldman, a Fordham University journalism student who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009. It is sponsored by EndDD.org, which was created by the Casey Feldman Memorial Foundation to end distracted driving, and by the journalism department at the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Media, Communication and Information.

Two judges evaluated the submissions: Justin George, an editor at the Cowboy State Daily, and Chuck Plunkett, who directs the capstone journalism program ��Ƶ News Corps at ��Ƶ Boulder. George was formerly a transportation writer at The Washington Post, and Plunkett was formerly the editorial page editor for The Denver Post.

“Sarah Freishtat’s impactful story was an example of a transportation beat reporter showing unparalleled expertise, uncovering a clearly ignored failure of justice and public safety sitting right under everyone’s noses,” George said.

Vehicular crashes involving pedestrians had been on her radar for some time when she heard about two separate pedestrian accidents where a youth was struck while crossing the street. One involved then-17-year-old Nakari Campbell, who spent so many weeks recovering that she celebrated her 18th birthday in a rehabilitation center. Ja’lon James, 11, was crossing the street with his brother one morning when he was hit and did not survive. Neither family has discovered who was behind the wheel of the cars that changed their lives.

“I give a lot of credit to the families I spoke with, because it’s not easy to sit down and relive what is often the worst day of their lives—and I’m deeply appreciative of them letting me into their homes and into their lives,” Freishtat said. “Sitting in Ja’lon’s family’s living room talking to his mother and grandmother really drives home why this issue is important to talk about and why we do this.”

Reporters Jennifer Gollan and Susie Neilson, of the San Francisco Chronicle, were recognized with an honorable mention for their project, which explored police chases. Their multimedia series looks into the statistics and methodology of police chases through storytelling, infographics and video footage.

Freishtat received a first-place prize of $3,000.

A Chicago Tribune reporter investigated how traffic accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists rarely lead to charges, despite the deep impact on families.

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Kansas City Star reporters win Feldman Award for report on dangerous rail crossings

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Kansas City Star reporters win Feldman Award for report on dangerous rail crossings Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/08/2024 - 00:00

Mere seconds can be the difference between life and death at rural railroad crossings–but efforts to make these crossings safer are stalled by government bureaucracy and railways that are looking to others to solve the problems for them.

An investigation by The Kansas City Star and three of its reporters—Judy L. Thomas, Laura Bauer and Kevin Hardy—documented the dangers of railroad crossings in 12 states that have the most miles of public track. Their work has been recognized with the 2023 Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting.

Their findings, as told in “Hundreds Crash at Dangerous Rail Crossings That Should Have Been Fixed. Whose Fault Is It?”, show that:

46 percent of deadly collisions occur in rural areas or small towns.
Flashing lights and gates can reduce collisions, but many railroad crossings don’t have them.
Railroads pay little for improving safety at crossings, instead relying on government funding to pay for upgrades, and for labor and lodging costs for railroad workers to complete the upgrades.

The reporting award honors Casey Feldman, a Fordham University journalism student who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009. The award is sponsored by EndDD.org, which was created by the Casey Feldman Memorial Foundation to end distracted driving, and by the journalism department at the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Media, Communication and Information.

The New York Times and reporters Peter Eavis, Mark Walker and Niraj Chokshi were awarded an honorable mention for their work on “Norfolk Southern’s Push for Profits Compromised Safety, Workers Say.” The story explores staffing issues at Norfolk Southern and declining safety ratings that predated the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023.

The Kansas City Star team received a first-place prize of $2,000 for its reporting work, and the New York Times team received a $500 award.

Finalists in CMCI-sponsored transportation safety competition examined underinvestments that led to disasters.

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Driving change: Transportation safety journalists encouraged to apply to 2023 Casey Feldman Award

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:51:34 +0000

Driving change: Transportation safety journalists encouraged to apply to 2023 Casey Feldman Award Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 07/06/2023 - 12:51

Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting.

This is the second year for the award, which recognizes outstanding work in the area of transportation safety journalism. The award honors Casey Feldman, a senior journalism student at Fordham University who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009. It is sponsored by the Casey Feldman Foundation and the journalism department at the College of Media, Communication and Information at the University of Colorado Boulder. Casey Feldman’s parents, Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson, created the foundation to provide scholarships for students and to support work that will help put an end to distracted driving.

The Casey Feldman Award recognizes exceptional work produced between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, by a reporter or reporting team in print and/or online platforms in the United States. Entries should take the form of a story or series about one topic or event related to transportation safety. The winner receives a $2,000 prize; two honorable mentions of $500 each also will be awarded. The publication time frame has changed this year, so entrants are eligible to resubmit nonwinning entries from the 2022 contest for consideration.

The 2022 award went to Jesse Coburn and Streetsblog NYC for “Always Scared: Dangerous Streets Outside City Schools Threaten Children,” a story that looked at unsafe streets and mapped crashes that occurred near schools. Honorable mentions in the 2022 contest were awarded to Marin Cogan and Vox for “The Deadliest Road in America” and to Mike Lindblom of the Seattle Times for “Seattle’s Most Dangerous Light-Rail Stretch — And How to Make it Safer.”

Joel Feldman said it’s that kind of journalism that he and Dianne Anderson want to encourage through this award.

“My daughter Casey had a passion for journalism. At the time of her death she was news editor of her college newspaper,” he said. “In expressing their condolences, many of her colleagues told us that Casey taught them that reporters have the power to change the world for the better by telling great stories.

“Recognizing the power of the press to amplify what all of us who are involved in transportation safety do, my wife and I created an award for transportation reporters in Casey’s memory,” Feldman said. “By doing so we wanted to encourage and reward reporters who tell great stories that are helping to keep us safer on our roads.”

Applicants can submit their work through the Casey Feldman Award page on the CMCI website until 11:59 p.m. Sept. 1. Entries should include PDF files of, or links to, relevant stories, along with a letter of nomination from the entrant and/or their sponsoring publication. The entry fee is $50 per submission. Please send questions to jrnldepartment@colorado.edu.

Learn more Submit work

��Ƶ the Casey Feldman Foundation

The Casey Feldman Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that was founded by Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson after Casey’s death. Its purpose is to make the world a better place and roads safer for everyone. In honor of Casey Feldman’s commitment to service, the foundation provides scholarships, animal welfare and service programs, research-based safe driving presentations, and more.

��Ƶ CMCI

The College of Media, Communication and Information opened in fall 2015 as the first new college on the University of Colorado Boulder campus in 53 years. CMCI was created to match the times we live in—times of revolutionary change in the way people communicate, the tools they use to do it and the impact that change has on society. CMCI offers seven areas of academic specialty: Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design; Communication; Critical Media Practices; Information Science; Intermedia Art, Media Production; Journalism; and Media Studies.

The competition honors the memory of Feldman, a journalism student who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009.

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Always Scared: Streetsblog NYC wins inaugural Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:46:39 +0000

Always Scared: Streetsblog NYC wins inaugural Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/22/2023 - 10:46

By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)
Illustration by Martin Schapiro for Streetsblog NYC, used with permission

In New York City, walking to school is dangerous. According to data from nearly one million car crashes between July 2015 and November 2021, there are nearly two crashes per hour, and every two hours one person is injured near city schools. News reports identified at least 24 children who had been killed.

This data is troubling, and became the focus of Streetsblog NYC’s story “Always Scared: Dangerous Streets Outside City Schools Threaten Children” by Jesse Coburn, which won the 2022 Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting.

The reporting award honors Casey Feldman, who was killed in 2009 by a distracted driver while attending Fordham University as a journalism student. It is sponsored by EndDD.org, which was created by the Casey Feldman Memorial Foundation to end distracted driving, and by the journalism department at the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Media, Communication and Information.

Award judge and Daily Camera reporter Mitchell Byars called it, “a detailed look into traffic safety for a vulnerable population, school children, that also takes into account the role race and economic status play in transportation safety problems.” He also noted the skilled use of data, visuals and “first-hand accounts of the dangers these kids face.”

In addition to Byars, this year’s judges included: Kasey Cordell, communications officer at the LOR Foundation; Esteban L. Hernandez, reporter at Axios Denver; and Paul S. Voakes, dean emeritus at ��Ƶ Boulder.

“Always Scared” took six months to investigate, and Coburn and Streetsblog analyzed more than 900,000 car crashes, conducted more than 50 interviews and reviewed hundreds of pages of municipal and legal documents.

In May 2022, Streetsblog published the story, which included thorough data analysis and emotional anecdotes from car crash survivors. Not only does it detail the frequency and severity of crashes, but the piece also investigates the apparent lack of change from the city in response to the injuries and deaths.

Hernandez said "Always Scared" was “the most impressive in my eyes because they compiled the data and did the additional on the ground reporting, which is a remarkable achievement.”

Cordell said the story was deeply reported “with thoughtful analysis and compassionate storytelling. The charts and maps demonstrate the scale of the problem, while the poignant profiles of those whose lives have been forever changed as a result of these dangers call for change.”

Two honorable mentions were awarded this year. Marin Cogan’s story for Vox, “The Deadliest Road in America,” investigates how urban planning is often at odds with safety, particularly on this stretch of the US-19 in Pasco County.

In his review of Cogan’s story, Byars noted, “This story uses data, graphics, photos and personal stories to expand a very detailed and nuanced examination of one very deadly road into an examination of nationwide transportation safety issues that arise in our car-centric society.”

The second honorable mention is transportation reporter Mike Lindblom’s story for The Seattle Times: “Seattle’s Most Dangerous Light-Rail Stretch — and How to Make It Safer.” Lindblom starts by telling the story of two baseball fans who were fatally hit by a light-rail train. He then evaluates factors that led to light-rail incidents and offers proposed solutions.

In his comments, Voakes said Lindblom conducted great data analysis and “went the extra mile to look at systems around the country.”

Cogan and Lindblom were each awarded a $500 cash prize, while Coburn received a first-place prize of $2,000.

The winner of the 2022 Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting is Streetsblog NYC’s story “Always Scared: Dangerous Streets Outside City Schools Threaten Children.” It investigated data from more than 900,000 car crashes, many of which occurred near New York City schools.

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Casey Feldman reporting award application opens

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:05:56 +0000

Casey Feldman reporting award application opens Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/21/2022 - 13:05

The Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting is open for applications.

The award honors Casey Feldman, a senior journalism student at Fordham University who was killed in 2009 by a distracted driver. It is sponsored by the Casey Feldman Foundation and by the journalism department at the College of Media, Communication and Information. Casey Feldman’s parents, Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson, created the foundation to provide scholarships for students and to support work that will help put an end to distracted driving.

“Recognizing the power of the press to amplify what all of us who are involved in transportation safety do, my wife and I created an award for transportation reporters in Casey’s memory,” said Joel Feldman. “By doing so we wanted to encourage and reward reporters who tell great stories that are helping to keep us safer on our roads.”

The Casey Feldman Award recognizes exceptional work produced between Nov. 1, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2022, by a reporter or reporting team in print and/or online platforms in the United States.

Entries should take the form of a story or series about one topic and/or event related to transportation safety. The first-place prize is $2,000, and two honorable mentions, which will receive $500 each, also will be awarded.

Applicants can submit their work through the Casey Feldman Award page on the CMCI website until 11:59 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9. Entries should include PDF files or URL links for relevant stories and a cover letter of nomination from the entrant and/or their sponsoring publication. Please direct any questions to Lisa Guinther.

“My daughter Casey had a passion for journalism. At the time of her death she was news editor of her college newspaper,” Feldman said. “In expressing their condolences, many of her colleagues told us that Casey taught them that reporters have the power to change the world for the better by telling great stories.”

The Casey Feldman Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that was founded by Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson after their 21-year-old daughter, Casey, was killed by a distracted driver in 2009. Its purpose is to make the world a better place and roads safer for everyone. In honor of Casey Feldman’s commitment to service, the foundation provides scholarships, animal welfare and service programs, research-based safe driving presentations and more.

CMCI offers seven areas of academic specialty, including Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design; Communication; Critical Media Practices; Information Science; Intermedia Art, Writing and Performance; Journalism; and Media Studies.

The Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting is open for applications until Dec. 9. The award honors Casey Feldman, a journalism student at Fordham University who was killed in 2009 by a distracted driver.

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