Release: The Iowa Gallup Award
for Excellent Journalism Using Polls

FOR RELEASE: February 8, 2006

The University of Iowa and The Gallup Organization
seek award entries for exceptional journalism using polls

Iowa City, IA -- The University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, in collaboration with The Gallup Organization, announces an annual award that will recognize excellent media stories using polls.
The Iowa Gallup Award for Excellent Journalism Using Polls is a joint endeavor to honor George H. Gallup, an Iowa native who earned three degrees from The University of Iowa (UI), was an instructor with the School of Journalism, and founded the Quill & Scroll, an international honorary society for high school journalists. Quill & Scroll, with 14,104 chapters, has kept its ties with the University and has offices in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

"Too often reporting today is based on rhetoric and journalists' perceptions of the voice of the people," said Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO of The Gallup Organization. "It is our hope that this award will help to promote the accurate reporting of the people's opinion and beneficially add it to the public debate."

This annual award will recognize the importance of the news media's use of polls in understanding public opinion and shaping discourse on social and political issues. Journalists' accurate, creative and intelligent analysis of polling data can add depth and dimension to their reporting, as well as enhance the quality of public debate. The Iowa Gallup Award is designed to reward news media stories that feature such analysis and thus promote the best use and presentation of polls and data in journalism and media.

An illustrious panel of judges noted for their high standards in polling and journalism will rate the stories on the basis of creativity, writing style, and impact. The judges for the 2005 Inaugural Award are:  

Stephen Berry –Professor, The University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Karen Brown Dunlap – President and Managing Director, The Poynter Institute

Alec M. Gallup – Chairman, The Gallup Poll

Gary Langer – Director of Polling, ABC News

Paul Lavrakas – Vice President and Senior Research Methodologist, Nielsen Media Research

"Gallup and Iowa have been linked for more than a century.  Born in Iowa in 1901, George Gallup earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from The University of Iowa," said Pam Creedon, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.  “His Ph.D. dissertation, ‘An Objective Method for Determining Reader Interest in the Content of a Newspaper,’ helped to create the science that we seek to honor with this award."

The Inaugural Iowa Gallup Award for Excellent Journalism Using Polls will be selected in the spring of 2006 from among nominees provided by those in the fields of journalism and professional polling. The call for entries is open until March 15, 2006. To be eligible for the Award, stories must be an original story published, broadcast, or placed on-line between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2005.

Award-winning stories will be accurate in analyzing and interpreting data, have clarity of presentation, and, considering the importance of the story, have implications for public discourse. Complete details of the judging criteria, including the minimal requirements, and an entry form can be found at the award web site http://www.uiowa.edu/jmc/GallupAward.

The recipient of the award will be announced in April. The Iowa Gallup Award and a stipend of $2,500 will be presented at a ceremony at The Gallup Organization in May.

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For more information, contact:
Kim Merchant
The University of Iowa
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
E300 Adler Journalism Building
Iowa City, IA 52242
kimberly-merchant@uiowa.edu