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Atlantic Media Announces Finalists for the 15th Annual Michael Kelly Award

Reporting from the Associated Press, Miami Herald, The New York Times, and The Washington Post Recognized for fearless pursuit and expression of truth in journalism

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Washington, D.C. (March 16, 2018)—Atlantic Media has selected four finalists for its 15th annual Michael Kelly Award. Atlantic Media Chairman David Bradley created the award to celebrate the life and career of Michael Kelly, a former editor of two Atlantic Media publications—The Atlantic and National Journal—who was killed in Iraq while covering the war in 2003.

Selected from a highly competitive field of submissions, finalists were chosen by a panel of judges for work that displays the courage, determination, and passion exemplified by Kelly. The 2018 finalists are:

  • Kristen Gelineau, Todd Pitman, and Esther Htusan of the Associated Press for their coverage of the brutal persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

  • Carol Marbin Miller and Audra D.S. Burch of the Miami Herald for exposing shocking abuses in Florida’s juvenile justice system.

  • Dionne Searcey of The New York Times for her coverage of the lives shattered by the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria.

  • John Woodrow Cox of The Washington Post for a series of articles on children traumatized by gun violence in their schools, neighborhoods, and cities.

The finalists will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 8, where the winner of the $25,000 first place prize will be announced. The finalists will each receive $3,000.

Five judges selected the finalists: Kathleen Carroll, board chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists and former executive editor of the Associated Press; Charles Green, former editor of National Journal; Peter Jensen, editorial writer at The Baltimore Sun; Kate Julian, senior editor at The Atlantic; and Cullen Murphy, editor-at-large of Vanity Fair.

A full list of the past winners and finalists, as well as remembrances of  Michael Kelly from friends and colleagues, can be found at http://www.kellyaward.com/.