Media Awards Recognize
Quality Reporting About Stuttering

Mass media plays a critical role in raising awareness about stuttering and what can be done to help.
To recognize superior reporting on the topic in print and electronic media, The Stuttering Foundation instituted the Media Awards for Excellence 13 years ago. We are pleased to announce the seven winners for 2004, each of whom has enhanced public understanding of this complex speech disorder that affects millions of people.

First place in the Daily Newspaper category went to Jason Hidalgo of The Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, Nev.). A health reporter and Sunday columnist, Hidalgo in his article Help for Stutterers? explored whether electronic devices on the market can really help people who stutter. He presented the evidence in a fair and balanced way and provided additional resources readers could contact for help.

Second place went to Natalia Mielczarek of The Tennessean for her article entitled Learning to Cope with Stuttering. Mielczarek conveyed to readers what it’s like to stutter as a teenager and offered sources of help and inspiration.

First place in the category of Columnists went to Linda Lewis Griffith, of The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Classroom situations can be terrifying for children who stutter, and Griffith provided some good advice to teachers and parents in her column, Stuttering Kids Need Assurance from Teachers.

Parent to Parent advice columnist Jodie Lynn won second place for her piece that answered an anxious parent’s letter about a five-year-old child who stutters. The column included recommendations on how to get free assistance through the school system.

Third place winner is Evelyn Peterson. In her Ask Evelyn advice column, she answered a teacher’s query about a four-year-old child who may be stuttering, providing reassurance and tips on how to help the child’s fluency.
 

The first place winner in the Magazine category was Dan Costa of Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. His question-and-answer interview with speech-language pathologist Lisa Scott Trautman, Ph.D., of The Florida State University, in Focus on Health gave clear and easy-to-understand answers to common questions about stuttering.

The second-place magazine winner was writer Michael Medley, of OC Family and Inland Empire Family magazines, with Say the Right Thing. This well-researched story on childhood stuttering included a boxed sidebar with 10 tips for talking to clip out and post on the refrigerator door.

Each of The Foundation’s first place winners received a cash award of $250.

To submit an article for next year’s Media Awards for Excellence, write The Stuttering Foundation at 3100 Walnut Grove Road, Suite 603, P.O. Box 11749, Memphis, TN 38111-0749, call toll-free 1-800-992-9392, or email info@stutteringhelp.org.