Bruce Baer Award Honors Best of Oregon Investigative Journalism

Since 1978, the Baer Award, which carries a $1,000 prize, has been given in recognition of Oregon’s finest investigative and public affairs journalism.  Any work published or broadcast in 2014 may be nominated.  

Bruce Baer

Stories submitted for the award are judged on the quality of reporting, as well as the enterprise and courage reflected in the work, according to Friends of Bruce Baer, the group that sponsors the annual award.

Les Zaitz of The Oregonian won the award last year for “Under the Curse of Cartels,” a series exploring the widespread impact of Mexican drug cartels operating in Oregon.  Amelia Templeton of Oregon Public Broadcasting received a Special Recognition award for a story that examined the ramifications of law enforcement cutbacks in Josephine County.

Further information about the award and the nomination form can be found at http://journalism.uoregon.edu/brucebaer.

The award is in memory of Bruce Baer, who was dean of the Oregon Capitol press corps when he died of cancer at age 40. He had worked for daily newspapers and radio stations in the Pacific Northwest prior to spending 13 years at KATU-TV in Portland.

The prize will be presented June 6 at the annual awards banquet hosted by the Oregon Territory Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. This year’s event will take place on the campus of Linn-Benton Community College in Albany.

Entries should be submitted to: Dr.  Jeffrey D. Robinson, Department of Communications, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR  97207.

Links to online versions of the stories also should be included.

Questions can be directed to Roger Anthony at 503-998-5509.