Michael Masch of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, the staff of the Cleveland Jewish News and Martin Peretz, Editor of New Republic are the winners of the 1982 Smolar Awards for Excellence in North American Jewish Journalism, conferred by the Council of Jewish Federations.
The CJF Smolar Award Committee, chaired by Marvin Holland of Rhode Island, chose the winners from a group of 13 finalists among over 100 entries.
Michael Masch received the Smolar Award in the Human Interest Category, where other finalists were: Joseph Aaron, Baltimore Jewish Times; Staff, Baltimore Jewish Times; Cynthia Dettelbach, Cleveland Jewish News; Joyce Eisenberg, Philadelphia Jewish Exponent; Sam Kaplan, Jewish Western Bulletin of Vancouver; Susan Ronay, Jewish Community News of Clifton-Passaic; Ruth Rovner, Philadelphia Jewish Exponent; Evelyn Sucher, Jewish Student Press Service.
THE AWARD-WINNING ARTICLES
“Their Mission: Converting Jews,” Masch’s award-winning article on cults, was judged by the Committee as outstanding in its original analysis and interpretation.
Finalists in the Public Affairs Category, where the Cleveland Jewish News took top honors, were: Staff, Baltimore Jewish Times; Adam Simms, Long Island Jewish World; and Gary Rosenblatt William Novak, Baltimore Jewish Times.
The Cleveland Jewish News won the Award for its Special Issue, “A Moment in History: the Demjanjuk Trial.” The use of special issues reporting on critical events and issues in the Jewish community was judged by the Committee to be extremely valuable.
The Smolar Award Special Citation was conferred on Martin Peretz, whose New Republic article “Lebanon Eyewitness” was reprinted in Jewish newspapers and magazines across North America. The New Republic’s exemplary reportage on issues of critical concern to the Jewish community was cited.
No awards were conferred in the Opinion or Magazine categories.
The Smolar Awards are named after Boris Smolar, journalist, author and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Through the Awards, CJF and its member Federations honor outstanding achievement in Jewish newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and Canada.
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.
