Deadline Extended to February 3 for Council on Contemporary Families Media Awards Nominations

CHICAGO, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on Contemporary Families (CCF) announces an extension to February 3, 2012, of the nomination deadline for its Tenth Annual Media Awards competition. CCF honors outstanding journalism that contributes to the public understanding of contemporary family issues, in particular the story behind the story: how diverse families are coping with social and economic change; what they need to flourish; and how these needs can best be met.

The Council will present two awards for outstanding coverage of family issues during the past year: one for journalism in text form (print- or web-based); and one for broadcast journalism (audio or video). The awards will be presented at the Thirteenth Annual CCF Conference on Friday, April 27, during the evening program (5 p.m.-7p.m.) at the Jane Addams Hull House Museum.

CCF recognizes that America needs a balanced national conversation about the cultural, legal, and psychological issues that shape both private life and public policy. Essential partners in this process are the reporters and producers who present complicated family issues in their broader social context.

http://www.contemporaryfamilies.org/media-awards/2011-media-awards-winners.html

Past winners include journalists from USA Today, Time magazine, the Boston Globe, the San Antonio Express-News, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Baltimore Urbanite, KPCC (Southern California Public Radio), Thirteen/WNET, AlterNet, the Associated Press, among many others. Stories cover topics ranging from the consequences of parental snooping on tech-obsessed teens to hunger in Oklahoma and the role of religion in American family life. You can read about last year's winners, who reported on the changing nature of American marriage, a Baltimore program connecting teen mothers with older parents as part of the foster care process, and how the general inability of gays and lesbians to marry may separate long-term couples where one partner is an immigrant, among other topics, here. [http://www.contemporaryfamilies.org/media-awards/2011-media-awards-winners.html].

Nomination: Writers, editors, and producers may self-nominate; CCF members are also encouraged to submit nominations.

Criteria: Submissions must draw on traditional journalistic techniques of interview, observation and documentation. Opinion pieces are not eligible. Work must have been published, broadcast, or posted during calendar year 2011. Video and radio submissions must not exceed 30 minutes. Written submissions must not exceed 2000 words; excerpts are acceptable. A series that covers a particular issue over time is eligible.  

Follow this link to the CCF submission form, and submit to Shannon Davis, CCF Media Awards Chair, by Friday, February 3, 2012. Winners will be notified by Friday, March 16, 2012. Awards will be presented on Friday evening, April 27, at the Council on Contemporary Families 13th Annual Conference at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Winners are invited to attend the entire conference in full. We urge winners to accept their awards in person.

Mark Your Calendars for CCF's 13th Annual Conference

Our 13th Annual Conference, April 27-28, 2012, focuses on "Crossing Boundaries: Public and Private Roles in Assuring Child Well-Being." The conference is co-sponsored by the University-Based Child and Family Policy Consortium. Panels in CCF's customary brief formal presentation/long dialogue format will convene experts on the impact of our economic downturn on children and child well-being. Please join us for these compelling sessions, as well as for networking opportunities and to discuss current research on family issues. Program details are here. 

CCF and how CCF assists journalists: The Council on Contemporary Families is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of family researchers, mental health and social practitioners, and clinicians dedicated to providing the press and public with the latest research and best practice findings about American families. It was founded in 1996 and is based at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

For more information about CCF, or to receive future fact sheets and briefing papers from the Council, contact Stephanie Coontz, Co-Chair and Director of Research and Public Education of CCF and Professor of History and Family Studies at The Evergreen State College. [email protected]; 360-352-8117.

SOURCE Council on Contemporary Families