Council on Contemporary Families Announces Media Awards for Outstanding Coverage of Family Issues

Council on Contemporary Families 2020 Media Awards for Outstanding Coverage of Family Issues

The Council on Contemporary Families (CCF) announces the opening of nominations for its Fourteenth Annual Media Awards competition. We honor outstanding journalism that contributes to the public understanding of contemporary family issues, in particular the story behind the story: how diverse families are coping with social and economic change; what they need to flourish; and how these needs can best be met. The Council will consider both print and broadcast pieces that appeared during a two-year period: 2018 and 2019. The deadline for nominations is December 15, 2019.

The awards will be presented at the Twentieth Biennial CCF Conference (February 7, 2020) in Austin, TX.

Journalists, reporters, and producers who present complex family issues in their broader social context are essential partners in our shared mission to promote a balanced national conversation about the cultural, legal, and psychological issues that shape both private life and public policy.

Past winners include journalists from ProPublica, USA Today, Time Magazine, the Boston Globe, the San Antonio Express-News, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Baltimore Urbanite, KPCC (Southern California Public Radio), Thirteen/WNET, AlterNet, the Associated Press, among many others. Stories cover topics ranging from the consequences of parental snooping on tech-obsessed teens to hunger in Oklahoma and the role of religion in American family life.

Nomination Criteria

Writers, editors, and producers may self-nominate; CCF members are also encouraged to submit nominations.

Submissions must draw on traditional journalistic techniques of interview, observation and documentation. Opinion pieces are not eligible. Work must have been published, broadcast, or posted during calendar year 2018 and 2019.

• Video and radio submissions must not exceed 30 minutes.
• Written submissions must not exceed 2000 words; excerpts are acceptable.
• A series that covers a particular issue over time is eligible.

Deadline for Nominations

Nominations must be received by December 15, 2019.

Winners will be notified in January 2020. Awards will be presented at the Council on Contemporary Families 20^th Annual Conference (February 7, 2020). Winners are invited to attend the entire conference in full. We urge winners to accept their awards in person. At the plenary session, where awards are presented, winners are invited to speak for five minutes on emerging issues affecting American families and how CCF members and supporters can help the media cover these stories effectively.

Submission Instructions

• Completed Electronic Application Form 
• Optional: Send any additional information (e.g., word document or pdf files) via email to Alicia Walker at AliciaWalker@MissouriState.edu
  (Subject line: CCF Media Awards Nomination).

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CCF and how CCF assists journalists: The Council on Contemporary Families is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of family researchers, mental health and social practitioners, and clinicians, dedicated to providing the press and public with the latest research and best practice findings about American families. Founded in 1996 and based at the University of Texas at Austin, the Council’s mission is to enhance the national understanding of how and why contemporary families are changing, what needs and challenges they face, and how these needs can best be met. To learn more about other briefing papers and our annual conferences, including complimentary press passes for journalists, contact Stephanie Coontz, CCF’s Director of Research and Public Education and Professor of History and Family Studies at The Evergreen State College: coontzs@msn.com.