O'Donoghue wins ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Press Club award
April 27, 2016
Brian O’Donoghue, professor of journalism, received the First Amendment Award from
the ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Press Club for his student-assisted coverage of the innocence claims of
four men imprisoned for John Hartman's 1997 murder. His 14-year investigation provided
the foundation for the ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Innocence Project's litigation seeking exoneration of
the Fairbanks Four — Marvin Roberts, Eugene Vent, George Frese and Kevin Pease. In
a settlement this December, their convictions were dismissed, all charges were erased
and they walked free after 18 years.
Jeff Richardson, a former Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter now with UAF Marketing
and Communications, won first place in the Best Reporting on Health category for his
article, "Road to solving ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ's alcohol problem filled with roadblocks, challenges."
The story was part of Paths to Recovery, a series on ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ's search for solutions
to alcohol abuse.
Diana Campbell, with the Geophysical Institute's public information office, won a
second-place award in the Best Culture Reporting category for "Finding Home and Heritage
in the Berry Patch," written for the News-Miner.
The awards were announced last week. For a complete list, visit the ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Press Club .