S-R Reporter Wins Young Journalists’ Award
A Spokesman-Review reporter won the Livingston Award for Young Reporters for his reporting on the anti-government militia movement in the Inland Northwest.
Jim Lynch, 34, was recognized in the national reporting category for his work on “Angry Patriots,” a story which ran on Dec. 3, 1995, as part of a series called “The Ragged Edge.”
Two other Livingston Awards were given for local and international reporting.
Chris Adams, 30, a reporter for The TimesPicayune in New Orleans, won for local reporting on Medicaid fraud, and David Rohde, 28, a reporter at the Christian Science Monitor, was honored for international reporting on mass executions and hidden graves in Bosnia.
Each was presented the award and a check for $10,000 by CBS TV newsman Mike Wallace at a luncheon in New York City last week.
The awards are given annually by the Livingston Foundation at the University of Michigan to three journalists under the age of 35. They are the largest all-media, general reporting prizes in American journalism.
“The Livingston Award is one of the two or three most prestigious awards given out every year,” said Chris Peck, editor of The Spokesman-Review. “It speaks very highly of The Spokesman-Review on that level.”
Lynch’s versatility allows him to excel, Peck said.
Lynch, who has been with the paper since 1992, covers social service issues, but frequently is given general assignment stories and projects.
“He exemplifies the sort of reporter we try to hire,” Peck said. “He’s very resourceful.”
Lynch showed that quality as part of the seven-reporter and three-photographer team that spent five months exploring the depth and breadth of Inland Northwest militia groups, the force driving them, and how it is affecting mainstream politics and society.
His ability to look past the cliches and stereotypes that accompany militia groups and put a human face on them made Lynch’s work stand out, Peck said.
“His best work stands up to the very best in the country,” Peck said.
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