Washington, D.C. - David Bradley, chairman of Atlantic Media Company, announced tonight that Seattle Times reporters Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry are this year's recipients of the Michael Kelly Award for their series exposing the criminal histories of members of a Rose Bowl-winning University of Washington football team.

The $25,000 award is given annually to a journalist whose work exemplifies a quality that animated Michael Kelly's own career: the fearless pursuit and expression of truth. Kelly, who was the editor of two Atlantic Media publications, The Atlantic and National Journal, was killed while covering the war in Iraq in 2003.

In a statement, the award judges said Armstrong and Perry displayed "the commitment to truth that will alienate readers, risk advertising accounts, and jeopardize a newspaper's standing during already precarious times." The panel also noted that their "Victory and Ruins" series "showed how it wasn't only the athletic department and university administrators who looked the other way at the players' run-ins with the law but also local police, prosecutors, judges, and influential alumni."

The judges also recognized four journalists from three other organizations as finalists: Barry Bearak and Celia Dugger of The New York Times, Richard Behar of Fast Company and Peter Godwin of Vanity Fair.

The winners and finalists were honored at a dinner tonight in Washington at Atlantic Media Company headquarters.

The finalists were selected from a total of 50 entries from journalists at U.S.-based newspapers and magazines. The award is for work published in 2008.

A panel of five journalists served as judges for this year's award: Carl Cannon, a contributing editor for National Journal; Charles Green, editor of National Journal; Kelly Kennedy, a staff writer at Army Times and a Michael Kelly Award finalist last year; Cullen Murphy, editor-at-large for Vanity Fair; and freelance writer Loretta Tofani, last year's winner of the Michael Kelly Award. Murphy, former managing editor of The Atlantic, recused himself from deliberations and voting regarding the Vanity Fair entry.

To read this year's entries, and for additional information about the Michael Kelly Award, visit www.kellyaward.com.

Atlantic Media Company is a Washington, D.C.-based publishing company whose flagship properties include The Atlantic, National Journal, and Government Executive.

Washington D.C. - The Atlantic Media Company today named journalists from Fast Company, The New York Times, The Seattle Times and Vanity Fair as the finalists for this year's Michael Kelly Award. The winner of the $25,000 prize will be named at an April 16 ceremony in Washington.

The Michael Kelly Award was created by Atlantic Media Company Chairman David G. Bradley after Kelly's death while covering the war in Iraq in 2003. Kelly had been editor of two Atlantic Media publications, The Atlantic and National Journal. The Michael Kelly Award is bestowed annually upon a journalist whose work exemplifies the fearless pursuit and expression of truth that animated Kelly's own career.

The finalists were selected from a total of 50 entries from journalists at U.S.-based newspapers and magazines for work published in 2008.

This year's finalists are:

• Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry of The Seattle Times for a series exposing the criminal histories of players on the last University of Washington football team to win the Rose Bowl.
• Barry Bearak and Celia Dugger of The New York Times for coverage of the rigged presidential election in Zimbabwe.
• Richard Behar of Fast Company for an article on China’s growing appetite for mineral resources in Africa.
• Peter Godwin of Vanity Fair for coverage of Robert Mugabe’s reign of terror in Zimbabwe

Five judges comprised this year's Michael Kelly Award selection panel: Carl Cannon, contributing editor, National Journal; Charles Green, editor, National Journal; Kelly Kennedy, staff writer, Army Times and a 2008 Michael Kelly Award finalist; Cullen Murphy, editor at large, Vanity Fair; and Loretta Tofani, a freelance writer and the 2008 winner of the Michael Kelly Award.

Past winners of the award include C.J. Chivers, Esquire; Sharon LaFraniere, The New York Times; Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times; and Anthony Shadid, The Washington Post.

For additional information about the Michael Kelly Award, please visit www.kellyaward.com. Atlantic Media Company is a Washington, D.C.-based publishing company whose flagship properties include The Atlantic, National Journal, and Government Executive.

Washington, D.C. - David Bradley, chairman of Atlantic Media Company, announced Loretta Tofani the 2008 recipient of the Michael Kelly Award at a ceremony Thursday night in Washington. She was honored for her series on unsafe working conditions in China written for The Salt Lake Tribune.

The $25,000 award, which celebrates its 5th Anniversary this year, is given annually to a journalist whose work exemplifies a quality that animated Michael Kelly's own career: the fearless pursuit and expression of truth. Kelly, who was the editor of two Atlantic Media publications, The Atlantic and National Journal, was killed while covering the war in Iraq in 2003.

According to a statement from the award judges, Tofani's four-part series "is a tribute to her persistence, resourcefulness, and moral courage." After going into private business and seeing first-hand the working conditions in China, Tofani decided to return to journalism, but discovered that few news organizations were interested in her reporting. Only through her perseverance was she able to find a newspaper committed to collaborating with her on the series.

In addition to Tofani, the judges recognized as finalists journalists who wrote three other entries: Kelly Kennedy, a staff writer for Army Times, for her series on an Army battalion in Iraq; Joshua Kors, an investigative reporter for The Nation, for stories on the military denying medical benefits to soldiers returning from Iraq; and Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler, and Tom Vanden Brook for articles in USA Today, on the Pentagon's response to the threat of roadside bombs in Iraq. The finalists received $3,000 for their entry.

Atlantic Media received a total of 52 entries from reporters and editors at newspapers and magazines from across the country. The award is for work published in 2007.

Five judges comprised this year's Michael Kelly Award selection panel: Peter Beinart, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason.tv and Reason.com; Charles Green, editor of National Journal; Ruth Marcus, editorial writer and columnist of The Washington Post; and Cullen Murphy, editor-at-large of Vanity Fair.

Atlantic Media Company is a Washington, D.C.-based publishing company whose flagship properties include The Atlantic, National Journal, and Government Executive.

Washington D.C. - Today, the Atlantic Media Company named journalists from Army Times, The Nation, Salt Lake Tribune, and USA Today as the four finalists for this year's installment of the company's Michael Kelly Award. The winner of the $25,000 prize will be named at a May 8 ceremony in Washington, DC.

The Michael Kelly Award was created by Atlantic Media Company Chairman David G. Bradley after Kelly's death while covering the war in Iraq in 2003. Kelly had been editor of two Atlantic Media publications, The Atlantic and National Journal. The Michael Kelly Award is bestowed annually upon a journalist whose work exemplifies the fearless pursuit and expression of truth that animated Kelly's own career.

The finalists were selected from a total of 52 entries from journalists at U.S.-based newspapers and magazines for work published in 2007.

This year's finalists are:

• Kelly Kennedy, Army Times - for a series on an infantry regiment in Iraq hit hard by casualties.
• Joshua Kors, The Nation - for stories on the misdiagnosis of injured soldiers returning from Iraq.
• Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler, and Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today - for stories on the Pentagon's failure to respond to the problem of roadside bombs in Iraq.
• Loretta Tofani, Salt Lake Tribune - for a series on unsafe working conditions in China.

Five judges comprised this year's Michael Kelly Award selection panel: Peter Beinart, senior fellow, the Council on Foreign Relations; Nick Gillespie, editor of reason.tv and reason.com; Charles Green, editor, National Journal; Ruth Marcus, editorial writer and columnist, The Washington Post; and Cullen Murphy, editor-at-large, Vanity Fair.

Past winners of the award include C.J. Chivers, Esquire; Sharon LaFraniere, The New York Times; Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times; and Anthony Shadid, The Washington Post.

For additional information about the Michael Kelly Award, please visit www.kellyaward.com. Atlantic Media Company is a Washington, D.C.-based publishing company whose flagship properties include The Atlantic, National Journal, and Government Executive.