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Download the 2008 Legal Resource Guide for News Reporters

Dallas Bar Association
Stephen Philbin Awards
Recognizing Excellence in Legal Reporting Since 1983

AWARDS LUNCHEON - Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Keynote Speaker: KIMBERLY DOZIER,
CBS News Foreign Correspondent

History.

The Stephen Philbin Awards were created in 1983 to honor the memory of Stephen H. Philbin, a long-time member of the Dallas Bar Association and a partner with the firm of Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely. Mr. Philbin died in 1982 from leukemia at the age of 39.

At the time of his death, Mr. Philbin was a leading authority on media law in Texas. He advised major publications and broadcast companies on libel law, regulations and licensing of broadcast properties, and fair comment rulings. Mr. Philbin was a graduate of Harvard Law School, and he received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Yale University.

In honor of Mr. Philbin's contributions to media law in Dallas, an anonymous donor has funded the Philbin Awards, and the Dallas Bar Association has presented the awards annually since 1983.

	A $750.00 cash prize will be awarded to the winner of each category. A $1,500.00 cash prize will be awarded to a grand-prize winner chosen from the entries in all categories. Award winners will also receive plaques recognizing their accomplishment.
	Winners are announced at the Philbin Awards Luncheon, at the Belo Mansion (2101 Ross Avenue in Dallas). The awards luncheon will be held Wednesday, October 29, 2008. To inquire about the luncheon or purchase tickets, contact Darlene Hutchinson Biehl.

Judging Criteria.

Entries for the Philbin Awards must cover some aspect of the legal system or its participants and should contribute to the public's understanding of the legal system. A panel of judges evaluates submissions for informational value, educational value, creativity, thoroughness, accuracy, clarity, interest, contribution to public debate, and the journalist's resourcefulness, courage, and initiative in pursuing the story. The judges reserve the right to transfer an entry to the appropriate category if the entry is more suitable to the criteria of another category. The judges reserve the right to not select a winner in a category if entries in said category do not meet the stated criteria.

Some past recipients of the Stephen Philbin Awards include:

Rebecca Aguilar, Brent Stanley and Cody Marcom (KDFW Fox 4)
Ginger Allen, Todd Bensman, Josh Brown, Troy Larkins, Daniel Penz (CBS 11 KTVT-TV)
Jim Atkinson, Michael Hall, Alicia Mundy (Texas Monthly)
Max B. Baker (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Brenda Bernet and Dave Sorter (Plano Star-Courier)
John Browning and Jeff Parish (Rockwall County Herald-Banner)
Brendan Case, Reese Dunklin, Brooks Egerton (The Dallas Morning New)
Mark Donald (Texas Lawyer)
Jennifer Emily (The Dallas Morning News)
Donna Fielder (Denton Record-Chronicle)
Michael Grabell (The Dallas Morning News)
Jay Gray, Mike Heimbach and Raul Rangel (KXAS)
Linda Hwang and Eric Alkire (KDFW Fox 4)
Rick Hadley (WBAP Radio)
Lee Hancock, Kim Horner, Maud Beelman (The Dallas Morning News)
Byron Harris (WFAA Channel 8)
Diane Jennings, Darlean Spangenberger (The Dallas Morning News)
Thomas Korosec, Christine Biedeman (Dallas Observer)
Julie Lyons (Dallas Observer)
Dan Malone, Howard Swindle and Mark Curriden (The Dallas Morning News)
Glenn Mitchell, Susan Schewe, Jeff Whittington, Kris Boyd and Maggie Conklin (KERA 90.1 Radio)
Joylyn Niebes, Laura Oertling, Shelley Hawes Pate, Lisa Poisso (Dallas Child)
Becky Oliver, Joe Ellis, Donna Ressl and Phil Fleming (KDFW Fox 4)
Richard Ray (KDFW-TV)
Robert Riggs, Alan Berg, and Meridith Schucker (WFAA-TV)
Jason Roberson and Eric Torbenson (The Dallas Morning News)
Brett Shipp, Mark Smith and Kraig Kirchem (WFAA-TV)
K. Shelby Skrhak (The Colony Courier-Leader)
Loren Steffy (Bloomberg News)
Doug Swanson, Steve McGonigle, Holly Becka, Gregg Jones, Jennifer LaFleur, Emily Ramshaw and Ed Timms (The Dallas Morning News)
Howard Swindle (The Dallas Morning News)
Allen Taylor (Today Newspapers)
Jason Trahan (The Arlington/Dallas Morning News)
Glenna Whitley (D Magazine)
Lisa Whitley (Dallas Business Journal)
Tim Wyatt and Ed Housewright (The Dallas Morning News)

General Rules:
	Entries for the 2008 awards must have been published or aired between August 2, 2007, to August 1, 2008. A series with installments before August 2, 2007, or after August 1, 2008, may be entered in its entirety if at least half of the series appeared within the competition period and no part of the series was entered in last year's Philbin Awards competition.
	Entries for the 2008 awards must be postmarked or hand-delivered no later than September 10, 2008. Entries must be sent to Darlene Hutchinson Biehl, Director of Communications/Media, Dallas Bar Association, RE: Philbin Awards, 2101 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75201.

	Each entry must be accompanied by the Philbin Awards Entry Form (see PDF on this page), which must be filled out completely and accurately. Please list on the Entry Form all persons who should share in any award given for the submitted entry (list of names cannot exceed 6).

	Any entry that has been primarily published, circulated, or broadcast in the Dallas-Forth Worth area is eligible for the Philbin Awards competition if it otherwise meets the criteria set forth in these Rules. The Dallas-Fort Worth area, for the purposes of these awards, is defined as the counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Wise, Parker, Hood, Johnson, Ellis, Kaufman and Rockwall.

	No single reporter may submit more than two entries in one category. Entries MUST be sent in separate envelopes.
	No single entry may be submitted in more than one category.

	All inquiries regarding the Philbin Awards competition should be directed to Darlene Hutchinson Biehl, Director of Communications/Media of the Dallas Bar Association at dhutchinson@dallasbar.org.

Award Categories: The Philbin Awards are given in the following seven categories:

	Metropolitan or statewide newspaper: Feature story Any single story published in a newspaper with metropolitan or statewide circulation is eligible for this category. A feature story is typically an in-depth article that thoroughly covers or analyzes an issue or trend.

	Metropolitan or statewide newspaper: Spot news Any single story published in a newspaper with metropolitan or statewide circulation is eligible for this category. A spot news report typically covers breaking or timely hard news.

	*Metropolitan or statewide newspaper: Series* Any series of articles published in a newspaper with metropolitan or statewide circulation is eligible for this category. News articles and feature stories are eligible for this category. No more than six articles, on a single/particular topic, may be submitted for the "series" category.

	Suburban newspaper: News or Feature articles Any story or series of stories published in a newspaper with circulation primarily directed to a suburb, neighborhood, or other localized area is eligible for this category. News articles and feature stories are eligible for this category. This category is not intended for metropolitan newspapers with neighborhood sections.

	Magazine Article(s) Any article or series of articles published in a magazine primarily circulated in, and/or specific to, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is eligible for this category. For the purposes of this awards program, "magazine" is defined as a printed or electronic periodical or Web site containing miscellaneous articles on a variety of topics.

	*Radio* Any report, program or series of reports/programs aired on a radio broadcast in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and primarily directed to listeners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is eligible for this category.

	Television Any report, program or series of reports/programs aired on a television broadcast in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and primarily directed to viewers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is eligible for this category.

Print Entry Requirements:

	For each entry, entrants must submit 6 copies of each entry (the article(s)), and 6 copies of the completed and legible entry form (see PDF on this page for entry form). For series being submitted, entrants must also submit six copies of a summary of 100 words or less. Newspaper and magazine entries should be sent on 8 ½ x 11 paper, if possible.

	The publication date of the entry must be apparent somewhere on the entry itself, in addition to being listed on the entry form.

	All entries must have actually been published during the eligible time period, and bear the publication's name.

	All entries must be clearly labeled. Entry forms must be attached to the entry in some fashion. NO E-MAIL ENTRIES WILL BE CONSIDERED. No entries will be returned to entrants.

Broadcast Entry Requirements:

	Entrants should submit six copies of a VHS videotape, DVD, audiotape or CD containing the entry. Broadcast entries must also be accompanied by six copies of a summary of the entry. Summaries must be printed on 8 ½ x 11 paper and be 100 words or less.

	Broadcast entries must be no longer than 12 minutes in length. If an entrant wishes to submit a report that is longer than 12 minutes in length as aired, the entrant must select a 12-minute excerpt from the report and place that excerpt at the beginning of the video or audiotape for the judges' consideration. Broadcast entries may be a series of reports on a single topic.

	The broadcast date(s) of the entry, as well as the name(s) of reporter, producer, videographer and/or editor, must be apparent somewhere on the entry itself and in the summary of the entry, in addition to being listed on the entry form.

	Only VHS videotapes or DVDs will be accepted in the television category.

	Only standard-size audiocassette tapes or CDs will be accepted in the radio category.

	All entries must have actually been aired during the eligible time period.

	All entries must be clearly labeled. Entry forms and summaries must be attached to the entry in some fashion. NO E-MAIL ENTRIES WILL BE CONSIDERED. No entries will be returned to entrants. Winners will be announced at the Philbin Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, October 29, 2008. The Philbin Awards are sponsored and coordinated by the DBA Media Relations Committee. Purchase Your Tickets now for the Awards Luncheon. Contact Darlene Hutchinson Biehl . CBS News Foreign Correspondent Kimberly Dozier is a foreign correspondent who has covered the Middle East extensively for the CBS Evening News, The Early Show and CBS Radio News. Ms. Dozier was in Baghdad with a military patrol on Memorial Day in 2006. She suffered life-threatening injuries when a bomb blast claimed the lives of two members of the news crew, an Army officer, and an interpreter. She has recently authored Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report — and Survive — the War in Iraq. Through her painful and inspiring account, readers learn what wounded military personnel and their families are enduring. Ms. Dozier is the recipient of a 2008 Peabody Award, a 2008 Edward R. Murrow Award, and four American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Awards. Additionally, she was honored with the 2007 Radio and Television News Directors Association and Foundation's Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award, and she was honored in 2007 by the Overseas Press Club. Ms. Dozier has served as the chief correspondent for WCBS-TV New York's Middle East bureau in Jerusalem, and she was the London bureau chief and chief European correspondent for CBS Radio News. She has a home in Jerusalem and is currently on assignment in the CBS News bureau in Washington, D.C. -- PAST PROGRAMS -- 2007 PHILBIN AWARDS LUNCHEON KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Court TV Anchor & Former Prosecutor Jack Ford October 2007 2006 PHILBIN AWARDS LUNCHEON KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Former U.S. Senator John Edwards December 2006 KEYNOTE SPEAKER for Awards Luncheon: Kimberly Dozier,

2005 PHILBIN AWARDS LUNCHEON
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III
October 2005

Click Here to View Printable PDF Entry Form