A writer for American Journalism Review, the national journalism magazine published by the Merrill College, has won the National Press Club’s Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism. The award to AJR senior contributing writer Sherry Ricchiardi is for the best media criticism published in magazines, newspapers, newsletters or online.

Ricchiardi, who often writes for AJR about foreign coverage, was honored for articles she wrote in 2008 about the media’s lack of coverage of the war in Iraq; how well the media scrutinized the Bush administration’s allegations against Iran; coverage of the war in Afghanistan; and the Chauncey Bailey Project, a joint effort by a coalition of West Coast news outlets to investigate the murder of Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey.

Ricchiardi, who has been writing for AJR since 1992, previously won a Rowse award in 2003 and received an honorable mention in 2006.

“We’re very proud that Sherry has received this well-deserved honor,” said Rem Rieder, editor and publisher of AJR. “She is a wonderful journalist who is truly passionate about what she does.”

AJR has dominated the Rowse Awards since their debut.

The full release is below:

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB HONORS OUTSTANDING JOURNALISM
Large and Small Journalism Outlets Among Prestigious Winners
Berkshire Eagle Shares Stage with New York Times, Wall Street Journal and ABC

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 15, 2009 — Small journalism outlets captured prestigious honors alongside some of the biggest names in the industry in the 2009 National Press Club Awards.

Reporters Todd Bensman and Guillermo Contreras of the San Antonio Express-News won the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence for a three-part series tracing the trail of high-powered guns smuggled from the United States into Mexico and the mounting body count in Mexico’s drug cartel war.

Meanwhile, Juliet Macur of The New York Times won the Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award, print and online category, for following up on the fate of NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s traumatically abused dogs.

The Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly, ABC News “20/20,” and MSNBC.com also were among the winners; as were the Berkshire Eagle, the Miami Herald and WTVF News Channel 5 in Nashville, Tenn.

“When times are tough in the news business, it is especially important to celebrate excellence in journalism,” said NPC President Donna Leinwand. “These reporters represent the best of our craft. Their articles have exposed critical problems for consumers, kept our government and politicians honest and solved community problems. We are thrilled to honor them.”

The Washington-based NPC, the world’s most renowned press club, evaluated 139 entries in 18 categories.

The awards will be formally presented at a dinner Monday, Aug. 3, at the National Press Club, which has 3,500 members.

Veteran journalist Gerald F. Seib won the Lee Walczak Award for his Capital Journal column in the Wall Street Journal chronicling the historic 2008 presidential election.

On the other end of the age spectrum, Tim Starks of Congressional Quarterly won the Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, an award given to an outstanding reporter under 35, for exposing the hypocrisy of a secretive Congress

ABC 20/20 correspondent Elizabeth Vargas and her crew won the broadcast category of the Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award for their in-depth look at mankind’s impact on elephants, both in captivity and in the wild.

MSNBC.com captured the Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award recognizing web-based journalism for “The Elkhart Project,” a dramatic multi-media presentation about how one community hard-hit by the recession is struggling to survive and preserve its community spirit

Bill Shein of the Berkshire Eagle won the Angele Gingras Humor award for his imaginative and topical columns including a look at the absurdities of laptop gnomes and full-size golden parachutes.

The Miami Herald’s Jack Dolan, Rob Barry and Matthew Haggman won the Consumer Journalism Award newspaper category for a series of gripping articles examining Florida’s crooked mortgage industry.

Nashville’s WTVF News Channel 5 won the NPC’s Consumer Journalism Award broadcast category for “An Alarming Failure,” a ground-breaking examination of the differences between the popular ionization-type smoke detector and the photoelectric model in a smoky fire. The stories resulted in legislation being introduced in Tennessee banning the installation of ionization smoke detectors in new homes.

Here is a complete list of the 2009 National Press Club Award winners:

Consumer Journalism Award—Newspapers
“Borrower’s Betrayal”—The Miami Herald; Jack Dolan, Rob Barry and Matthew Haggman.
Honorable mention, “Culture of Resistance”— The
Seattle Times; Michael Berens and Ken Armstrong.

Consumer Journalism Award—Periodicals
“AARP’s Stealth Fees Often Sting Seniors With Costlier Insurance”— Bloomberg Markets Magazine; Gary Cohn and Darrell Preston.

Consumer Journalism Award—Broadcast
“An Alarming Failure” — WTVF Newschannel 5, Nashville, Tenn.; Jennifer Kraus, Bryan Staples, Kevin Wisniewski and Mike Rose.

Washington Regional Reporting Award
Matt Canham, The Salt Lake Tribune

Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism–Newspapers, magazines, newsletters and online
Sherry Ricchiardi, American Journalism Review

Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence
“Texas’ Deadliest Export”— San Antonio Express-News; Todd Bensman and Guillermo Contreras.

Newsletter Journalism Award
Stephen Lee; Funeral Service Insider
Honorable mention: Gary Evans; Hospital Infection Control & Prevention.

Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award
“The Elkhart Project”—MSNBC.com; Mike Brunker, Kari Huus, Mike Stuckey, Allison Linn, JoNel Aleccia, John Brecher, Robert Hood, Carissa Ray, Marilyn Odendahl, Tim Vandenack and Josh Weinhold.
Honorable mention, “Mind of the South”—Newsweek; Christopher Dickey.

Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism
“A Dome Under Lock and Key”— Congressional Quarterly; Tim Starks.

Joseph D. Ryle Award for Excellence in Writing on the Problems of Geriatrics
“Utah’s Nursing Homes: Compromised Care”— Salt Lake Tribune; Matt Canham.

Angele Gingras Humor Award
Bill Shein; Berkshire Eagle

Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award–Print/Online
“Given Reprieve, NFL Star’s Dogs Find Kindness”—The New York Times; Juliet Macur.

Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award–Broadcast
“Elephant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”— ABC News 20/20; Elizabeth Vargas, Howie Mastors and Kimberly Launier.

Michael A. Dornheim Award
“The Hunt for the Kill Switch”— IEEE Spectrum magazine;
Sally Adee.

Lee Walczak Award for Political Analysis
“Capital Journal”—Wall Street Journal; Gerald F. Seib