Bristol Herald Courier reporter Daniel Gilbert is among the winners of the 2009 National Journalism Awards presented annually by the Scripps Howard Foundation.
Gilbert won the honor, which includes $10,000 and a trophy, for lifting the lid on a 20-year-old Virginia law that allows the energy industry to profit without compensating property owners.
In a series of articles published in December, Gilbert and the Herald Courier chronicled the difficulties that property owners face trying to access millions of dollars in royalties from natural gas production that have been sitting for years in unaudited escrow accounts.
Announced Friday, the Scripps awards honor the best work in the communications industry and in journalism education for the year 2009.
Gilbert, who joined the Herald Courier staff in December 2007, won the award in the community journalism category, one of two new categories this year in the Scripps contest, which now has 17 categories. The other new category this year is breaking news.
Cash awards totaling $175,000 will be presented to award winners April 23 during a dinner at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa, Fla. The dinner will be hosted by the foundation and its corporate founder, The E.W. Scripps Co.
“These awards not only recognize outstanding talent, skill and intellect, but reward dedication to serving our country and communities with journalism that changes lives and protects democracy,” said Mike Philipps, the foundation president and chief executive officer. “It’s a powerful message we look forward to sharing in Tampa, home of Scripps television station WFTS-ABC Action News.”
The Scripps competition was established in 1953 and is open to all U.S. news organizations, and college journalism and mass communications educators.
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