Investigative News Network Awarded Prestigious Manship Prize

Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication has awarded the Investigative News Network (INN) with the 2011 Manship Prize for the innovative use of media to encourage civic engagement.

The prize was presented to INN CEO Kevin Davis and chair of INN’s board of directors Brant Houston at Manship’s annual 1913 dinner on Sept. 9 in Baton Rouge.

"This prize reflects both the role that nonprofit news has begun to play in informing the public and the unique and innovative role that INN plays in representing the nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative sector," Davis said.

The Manship Prize is one of the school’s most prestigious awards and the only national award of its kind.  First presented in 1998, past recipients have included Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg News, editor Bill Adair of PolitiFact, political strategist Joe Trippi and others.

The Manship Prize chair, Mary Ann Sternberg, who introduced this year’s award said, “INN impressed the committee as a new, hopeful model in the delivery of serious enterprise journalism.  It falls at the intersection of media and public affairs; how media affects the way citizens think and react.”

INN joins this list of winners just two years after its July 2009 founding.  Already, INN membership includes 60 non-profit journalism organizations including NPRThe Crime Report and ProPublica.

“It is a testament to the dedication and drive of all the network’s member organizations that provide public service journalism during this time of dramatic change in the media,” said Brant Houston in May, when it was announced that INN would receive the award.

To learn more about INN and its members or to sign-up for the weekly newsletter, visit http://inn.org.