A National Summit on Arts Journalism – WINNERS ANNOUNCED

October 30, 2009

The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and the National Arts Journalism Program are pleased to announce the results of voting for projects entered in the National Summit on Arts Journalism, held October 2 at the Annenberg School Auditorium on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles.

First Prize of $7,500 goes to Glasstire of Texas. Second Prize of $5,000 goes to FLYP Media of New York City. Third Prize of $2,500 goes to San Francisco Classical Voice. Additionally, all three projects, along with finalists Departures (a project of KCET in Los Angeles) and Flavorpill, previously were awarded $2,000 each for being chosen finalists for the National Arts Journalism Summit.

Voters are members of the National Arts Journalism Program and alumni of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Arts Journalism Institutes, in a kind of informal professional academy of arts journalists.

“Each of the projects presented at the Summit represent an aspect of the changing nature of arts journalism,” said Summit co-director Sasha Anawalt. “These are challenging times for journalism, but the creativity and level of commitment to reinventing the ways that the arts are covered is inspiring.”

“We began with the basic premise that good journalism will continue,” said Summit co-director Douglas McLennan. “Great work is being done in many places. Our hope here was to explore some of the issues facing journalism and highlight some of the creative ways in which people are trying to address them. I think that the range of projects and ideas testifies to this.”

The Summit explored a range of ideas and projects representing current thinking in covering the arts. Five projects were selected in an open call this summer that attracted 109 submissions. Five additional projects were presented reflecting broad trends in the field of journalism. These presentations were made in front of a live audience, streamed over the internet and are archived on this website.

The Summit also included two roundtable discussions about the art and business of arts journalism. The online audience was incredibly active, commenting throughout the Summit, tweeting and chatting.

See below for the ten projects from the Summit.

SHOWCASE PROJECTS VIDEO
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PUBLIC PROJECTS VIDEO
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VIDEO RESPONSES
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Agenda
9am (PDT) Welcome & Introductions

  • Sasha Anawalt, Co-Director, Arts Journalism Summit
  • Douglas McLennan, Co-Director, Arts Journalism Summit
  • Dr. Ernest James Wilson III, Dean, USC Annenberg School for Communication
9:15 am Showcase Projects

  • SOPHIE presented by Holly Willis, Institute for Multimedia Literacy, USC
  • NPR MUSIC presented by Anya Grundmann, Executive Producer, NPR
  • CEDAR RAPIDS GAZETTE presented by Steve Buttry, C3 Innovation Coach
  • INSTANTENCORE presented by Margo Drakos, Chief Operating Officer
  • INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART presented by Max Anderson, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO
10:15 am Break
10:20 am Welcome: Bill O’Brien

  • Bill O’Brien, NEA Deputy Chairman for Grants & Awards
10:25 am Roundtable: The Art of Arts Journalism

  • Moderator: Laura Sydell, Reporter, NPR
  • Guests: Jeff Chang, author and journalist; Seth Schiesel, Reporter, The New York Times
11:00 am Welcome: Geneva Overholser

  • Geneva Overholser, Director, USC School of Journalism
11:05 am Public Projects

  • DEPARTURES presented by Juan Devis, Director, New Media Production, KCET
  • GLASSTIRE presented by Rainey Knudson, Founder and Director
  • FLYP presented by James R. Gaines, Editor-in-Chief
  • SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE presented by Patty Gessner, Executive Producer
  • FLAVORPILL presented by Mark Mangan, Co-founder and CEO
12:15 (PDT) Break
12:20 pm Roundtable: The Business of Arts Journalism

  • Moderator: András Szántó, Director, NEA Institute in Classical Music
  • Guests: Richard Gingras, CEO, Salon.com; Deborah Marrow, Director, The Getty Foundation
12:50 pm Closing Remarks
1:00 pm OUT
note: all times are approximate
Screening Sites
Live satellite sites are already planned at the Columbia School of Journalism, the University of Missouri School of Journalism, at Emerson College, CUNY, American University, and the Warhol Foundation. We’re confirming other sites as well, in such places as Singapore, London, and Zambia...

Click here to host a satellite screening site