Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham established The Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment in September 2005 to annually recognize and honor the work of one journalist or team of journalists for exemplary reporting on the environment.
“The public deserves ready access to the kind of information and news that only outstanding independent journalism can provide,” the Granthams said in announcing the prize, which is administered by the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting, housed at the University of Rhode Island's world-renowned Graduate School of Oceanography. They say they want their annual award of US$75,000 to “give that kind of reporting the honor, respect, and visibility it needs.”
The purpose of the Prize is to encourage outstanding coverage of the environment, to recognize reporting that has the potential to bring about constructive change, and to broadly disseminate the Prize-winning story to increase public awareness and understanding of issues focusing on the environment.
The Prize is awarded annually to nonfiction work originally produced in the U.S.A. or Canada during the previous calendar year in newspapers, magazines, and books and on television, cable, radio, and online.
Among the criteria jurors consider are the significance of the subject matter, quality and originality of the journalism, and the effort involved in telling the story. The 2010 Grantham Prize entries will be judged by an independent panel of five jurors, chaired by Philip Meyer, Emeritus Professor and former Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Also serving as jurors: David Boardman, The Seattle Times; Diane Hawkins-Cox, formerly of CNN; Deborah Potter, Newslab, and veteran journalist; and Robert B. Semple, Jr., The New York Times.
The Grantham Prize is funded by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham through The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The foundation supports climate change research and natural resource conservation programs internationally. Jeremy Grantham is a Boston-based investment strategist and Hannelore Grantham is Director of The Grantham Foundation.
The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting was established at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography in 1997 with funding from three journalism foundations and the Belo Corporation, The Providence Journal Charitable Foundation, and the Philip L. Graham Fund, and also from the Telaka Foundation. The Institute was established as a memorial to the late Michael Metcalf, a visionary leader in newspaper journalism and, from 1979 to 1987, the Publisher of The Providence Journal Bulletin. The Metcalf Institute is a leading provider of science and environmental science training for reporters and editors, with the mission of improving the accuracy and clarity of reporting on marine and environmental issues.
