2003 Sword of Hope Winners Announced 13 New England Journalists Honored

Thirteen New England journalists were honored at the Harvard Club in Cambridge, Mass. this spring for their outstanding reporting on cancer issues.

Every two years the New England Division's Sword of Hope Awards acknowledge New England print and broadcast journalists for their role in raising public awareness of cancer, deepening the public's understanding of the disease, and ultimately saving lives.

In the Daily Newspaper category (circulation over 50,000), Elizabeth Cooney of Worcester’s Telegram & Gazette, won the award for “Stemming the Threat,” an overview of one woman’s personal experience with the mini-transplant of stem cells. In the circulation under 50,000 category, York, Maine’s Journal Tribune and Mari Maxwell (pictured with Geeta Anand of the Wall Street Journal) were recognized for the series documenting her personal battle with breast cancer titled, “Diagnosis: Cancer.” The Boston Globe’s Derrick Z. Jackson was honored in the Commentary category for his collection of columns on local, state, national, and global cigarette issues.

The Weekly Newspaper award went to Donna Riley-Lein of Cumberland, Rhode Island’s Neighbors, for “Community Caring for Kelsey,” a series of articles detailing a young woman’s struggle to maintain a normal life while fighting cancer. A newspaper series documenting cancer patient Ric Blake’s journey with terminal illness and his passionate outlook on end-of-life issues titled “Living Well to the End,” won the Continuous Overall Effort award for reporter Marjory Sherman and photographer Cheryl Senter of the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune.

Eugenie Sills, Tammis Coffin, and Nan Eagleson of The Women’s Times in Great Barrington, Mass., received the award in the Magazine/Periodical category for “Breast Cancer Resources,” an annual supplement providing stories and in-depth information on cancer resources in areas such as prevention, detection, and treatment.

WCVB-TV of Needham, Mass., garnered two awards. Rhonda Mann and Dr. Tim Johnson were selected as award recipients in the Television News/Feature Story category for their piece, “Dealing with Death,” and in the Television Special Program category for their Chronicle episode featuring the segment titled, “Telling the Truth.” Both pieces analyzed the lives of single mothers diagnosed with cancer, how they dealt with the possibility of death, and how they prepared their children for the impending outcome.

In the Television News/Feature Story category, the winners were New Hampshire Public Television’s Linda Howe, for the series, “Journey Toward Healing” following two women and their diagnosis with breast cancer, and Robbin Ray of Boston’s WHDH-TV for “Breakthrough Breast Test,” an introduction to new breast cancer detection efforts.

Tracy Hampton of WGBH-FM (the Cape and the Islands) was honored for her radio piece describing the process of seed implementation as a treatment option for prostate cancer. WUMB-FMand reporter/producer Barbara Neely received an award in the Radio category for “Cancer Research and Support,” about prostate cancer treatments and improvements in the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.

Jennifer Vaughn of WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H., received the 2003 Judges’ Award for “Judy’s Journey,” a documentary which followed New Hampshire native Judy Velmure through her battle with breast cancer.

Judging this year’s American Cancer Society Sword of Hope Awards were Carole O’Neill, professor of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College; Francine Achbar, television writer, producer, and current partner at High Impact Marketing and Media in Brookline, Mass.; Geeta Anand, healthcare reporter for The Wall Street Journal; Diane Atwood, manager of marketing and public relations at Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine; and Linda Lotridge Levin, Journalism Department Chair at the University of Rhode Island.

The deadline for the next Sword of Hope awards is January 15, 2005. If you have any questions about these awards, please email Joyce Gallagher Sullivan at joyce.sullivan@cancer.org.