John Jay College Of Criminal Justice | The City University of New York

   

New York, NY, December 2, 2008 ­­– The John Jay College of Criminal Justice Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CMCJ) and the New York Community Media Alliance (NYCMA) announced today the winners of the recently established Justice and Community Reporting Award, which honors the best independent media reporting on selected criminal justice issues in the New York region.

Journalists were asked to submit investigative or feature work relating to criminal justice issues affecting New York’s multi-ethnic immigrant community. The work of the three winning journalists grew out of a special conference on immigration issues and crime held in June 2008 at John Jay College. They were among 24 Reporting Fellows chosen from around the country to participate in the conference.

2008 Awardees:
Ewa Kern Jedrychowska, of Nowy Dziennik, won for her article “Immigration Fraud Victims,” which brought into sharp focus the vulnerability of undocumented immigrants to ruthless legal predators who promise a quick fix of their legal status.

Ali Winston, of City Limits Weekly, won for his article “Marrying for Love? You'll have to Prove it” on the stricter federal rules being applied to newcomers who take the risky (and sometimes shady) route of marriage to U.S. citizens as a way of legalizing their status in the country.

Sujeet Rajan, of The Indian Express, won for his article “Being Sikh in America,” a moving, behind-the-scenes look at the Sikh immigrant community in New York City, and the increasing obstacles Sikhs face to gain acceptance in the larger society.

The awards will be presented during the 7^th Annual IPPIES Dinner, NYCMA’s journalism awards ceremony, to be held at Baruch College on Friday, Dec 5, 2008.

Support for the awards is provided by the Open Society Institute, McCormick Foundation, Overbrook Foundation, David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation. Award judges were Juana Ponce de León and Ka Chan of the NYCMA; and Stephen Handelman and Cara Tabachnick of the CMCJ.

For more information about the awards, contact Stephen Handelman, Director of the John jay College Center on Media Crime and Justice, at 646-557-4563 or shandel@ix.netcom.com.

The Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College, run by working journalists, is the nation’s leading practice and research-oriented think tank devoted to encouraging and developing high-quality reporting on criminal justice. The New York Community Media Alliance is the only member-driven nonprofit organization that works to strengthen the immigrant and community press in New York City, recognizing the critical role it plays in organizing, advocating and promoting civic engagement in the communities it serves.

Established in 1964, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York is an international leader in educating for justice. It offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law.