For the Media:
11th Annual Distinguished Journalism Awards

Washington, D.C., November 30, 2004 (Updated) -- The Epilepsy Foundation is accepting entries for the 11th Annual Distinguished Journalism Awards. The Foundation's Distinguished Journalism Awards program recognizes consumer broadcast, print, and Internet journalists who have contributed significantly to the following:

• The public's understanding of epilepsy
• Efforts to find its cause and cure
• Ways those who have epilepsy -- and their families -- cope with the disorder at home and in the workplace

Reason

Epilepsy can affect anyone, at any age, at any time. More than 2.5 million Americans have epilepsy and 181,000 new cases of seizures and epilepsy occur each year. Still, this chronic, episodic disorder is not well understood by the general public. This lack of understanding makes life more difficult than it needs to be for people with seizure disorders.

Between seizures, most people with epilepsy function as well as anyone else. Those with severe seizures often have great difficulty receiving the treatment and services they need. The media can play a crucial role in dispelling the myths about epilepsy, while informing the public about advances in finding its cause and cure.

Rules

1. All entries must have been published or broadcast in the United States by media available to the general public, between June 1, 2004 and May 31, 2005.
2. Entries may be a single story or broadcast, or a series of reports. Journalists may submit more than one entry and enter more than one category. Print ads or broadcast PSAs will not be considered.
3. Entries may be made by the journalist or, on his/her behalf, by an editor, publisher, radio, television, or website official, or by an affiliate of the Epilepsy Foundation.
4. A completed entry blank must be submitted for each entry. Broadcast entries should include a transcript, if possible. Television entries must include a 1/2 inch VHS videotape of the program entry in its entirety. Date, station and location of broadcast must be included. Radio entries must include one audio cassette. Original copies of newspaper or magazine articles are required. Online entries must include URL addresses and copies of reports as they appeared on the Internet. Submissions will not be returned.
5. Entries will be judged by an independent panel of journalists and medical/scientific experts appointed by the Epilepsy Foundation. The judges are free to recommend omission of an award in any category if they determine that entries submitted do not merit recognition. Decisions of the judges will be final.
6. It is understood that entries may be reproduced with credits in Epilepsy Foundation publications.
7. All entries must be received by June 3, 2005, and addressed to:

   Epilepsy Foundation Distinguished Journalism Awards
   4351 Garden City Drive
   Landover, Md. 20785-7223

Most Recent Award Winners

Judy Foreman, The Boston Globe, Boston, Mass.
Alejandro Lazo, Lodi News-Sentinel, Lodi, Calif.
Hattie Kauffman, Bob Kozberg, CBS, The Early Show

Previous Award Winners

Brie Zeltner, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio
Sarah Ryan, WSRS-FM, Worcester, Mass.
Edie Magnus, John Block, Dateline NBC
Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Denise Christensen, Science News
Dennis Murphy, Ruth Chenetz, NBC Dateline
Nicolle Charbonneau, HealthScout.com
Jane Brody, The New York Times
Rita Rubin, U.S. News&World Report
Dr. Howard Torman, Susan Schiller, Patricia Olsen, CBS This Morning
Judy Foreman, The Boston Globe
Jennifer Hembree, Georgia Magazine
Christi Myers, KTRK-TV, Houston
Art Carey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Leslie Stahl, Jay Kernis, CBS 60-Minutes
Roger O'Neil, John Chesnutt, Brad Woodard, NBC Nightly News and KARE-TV, Minneapolis
Margaret Baker, The Sun Herald, Gulfport, Miss.
Andrea Chambers, Seventeen Magazine
Dr. Rose Gabriele, WOIO-TV, Cleveland, Ohio
Shirley Armbruster, The Fresno Bee, Fresno, Calif.
Bill Clayton, Hour Detroit Magazine
Tod Olson, Chris Coats, Macon Morehouse, Teen People
Amy Sirot, June Peoples, Bill Lichtenstein, The Infinite Mind
Tom Corwin, Jeff Janowski, The Augusta Chronicle, Augusta, Ga.

The 11th Annual Distinguished Journalism Awards is underwritten by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.

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