Staff announcement: John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism

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Following is a memo announcing an award to reporter Judy Pasternak for her work on the “Blighted Homeland” series, sent by Editor James O’Shea on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007:

It is a pleasure to announce that Judy Pasternak has won the 2007 John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism for “Blighted Homeland,” her series on the toxic legacy of uranium mining in the Navajo tribal homeland.

Judy, a reporter in the Washington bureau, shares the award with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which was recognized for a series on the erosion of the barrier islands and wetlands buffering New Orleans.

The Oakes judges commended Judy for “exhaustive reporting and compelling writing that put a human face to the peril that has silently affected the Navajos.” Her four-part series, accompanied by exceptional photography by former Times staff member Gail Fisher, was published Nov. 19-22, 2006. The stories and photos are at latimes.com/navajo <http://www.latimes.com/navajo>.

The Oakes prize honors work that makes an “exceptional contribution to public understanding of environmental issues.” It is named for the late John B. Oakes, long-time editorial page editor of the New York Times and a pioneer in environmental journalism.

This is the second year in a row that the Los Angeles Times has won the prize. Last year, Ken Weiss, Usha Lee McFarling, Rick Loomis and Brian Vander Brug were recognized for the “Altered Oceans” series. In 1999, T. Christian Miller won for articles on runaway development in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Judy’s award is the latest in a fine tradition. Please join me in congratulating her.