Winners of the 1979 Smolar Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism were announced here on the eve of the opening of the Council of Jewish Federations 48th General Assembly. The recipients of the award, named after Boris Smolar, the distinguished veteran Jewish journalist and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, are Samuel Kaplan, editor of The Jewish Western Bulletin of Vancouver, Canada; Leonard Fine, editor and publisher of Moment Magazine; and Sheila Jacobson, editor of Expo Magazine.
Saul Viener, chairman of the Smolar Award Committee, said the purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding journalists whose work appears in English-language newspapers and magazines substantially involved in covering Jewish communal affairs and issues.
Kaplan received the award for a series of articles published in his newspaper about his trip to Cairo and interviews with various Egyptian officials Fein was cited for three news analysis articles dealing with the peace process: “The Mideast Impasse,” “Stalemate?” and “In the Wake of Peace.” Jacobson was cited for an article entitled “The Miracle of the Ninth Candle,” an account of her journey to the Soviet Union and subsequent interviews with released former Prisoners of Conscience now living in Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
