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ASIA SOCIETY ANNOUNCES FIRST
WINNER OF
THE OSBORN ELLIOTT PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ASIAN JOURNALISM
ELISABETH ROSENTHAL OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
RECEIVES $10,000 AWARD FOR HER GROUNDBREAKING COVERAGE OF
THE AIDS CRISIS IN CHINA
May 12, 2003, New York City—Richard C. Holbrooke, chairman
of the board of trustees of the Asia Society, announced tonight
at the Society’s annual dinner that Elisabeth Rosenthal
of The New York Times is the recipient of the first Osborn
Elliott Prize for Excellence in Asian Journalism. Fareed Zakaria,
editor of Newsweek International and chair of the independent
jury which oversaw the selection process, praised Rosenthal
for her pioneering coverage of the rampant spread of the HIV
virus through rural areas of central China, giving rise to
an AIDS epidemic that seems likely to affect more than ten
million persons by the end of the decade.
Ms. Rosenthal, a medical doctor herself, began her coverage
in Henan province in May 2001, where impoverished villagers
who had sold their blood to a state agency became victims
of a mass infection. Her dispatches brought the crisis to
the attention of health officials in Beijing where after a
delay of several months, its seriousness was finally acknowledged.
Her reports also inspired coverage by newly emboldened Chinese
journalists. Staying with the AIDS story for three years,
she then chronicled the losing struggle of Chinese doctors
and health officials with a repressive state machine bent
on cover-up rather than a national campaign of education and
treatment, filing an unforgettable series of dispatches that
showed the devastating consequences at the village level.
Her reporting of China's AIDS crisis foreshadowed the Chinese
response to the more recent SARS outbreak. “Distinguished
by her persistence and compassion, Elisabeth Rosenthal is
a worthy recipient of the first ‘Oz Prize’,”
stated Mr. Zakaria to the Asia Society audience.
Born in New York City, Ms. Rosenthal received a B.A. degree
in history and biology from Stanford University in 1978, an
M.A. degree in English literature from Cambridge University
in 1980, and an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in
1986, with a board certification in internal medicine. A member
of The New York Times staff since 1993, Ms. Rosenthal covered
New York area health and hospitals before moving to her post
in China in 1997. She was recently named science editor for
The Times, which will be effective this summer.
The prize honors legendary journalist and author Osborn Elliott,
former editor-in-chief of Newsweek, who set new standards
for reporting and editing and became one of the earliest practitioners
of “civic journalism”— the deliberate focusing
of the journalistic enterprise on urgent issues of public
policy. Asia Society will announce the $10,000 award every
year at its annual dinner.
In addition to Mr. Zakaria, the jury for the Osborn Elliott
Prize includes Carroll R. Bogert, Communications Director
for Human Rights Watch, Ian Buruma, noted author and Luce
Professor of Democracy, Human Rights and Journalism at Bard
College, Henry Cornell, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs
and Asia Society trustee, Barbara Crossette, author and contributor
to The New York Times, Walter Isaacson, President and CEO
of The Aspen Institute, Joe Klein, best selling author and
columnist for Time, and Joseph Lelyveld, former executive
editor of The New York Times. Criteria for the prize included
consideration for the impact of the work, its originality,
creativity, depth of research and educational value in informing
the public about Asia.
About Asia Society
Asia Society is America’s leading institution dedicated
to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between
Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. A nonprofit,
nonpartisan educational institution, Asia Society presents
a wide range of programs including major art exhibitions,
performances, media programs, international conferences and
lectures, and initiatives to improve elementary and secondary
education about Asia. The Asia Society is headquartered in
New York City, with regional centers in Washington, D.C.,
Houston, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia,
and representative offices in San Francisco, Manila and Shanghai.
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City.
(212) 517-ASIA, www.asiasociety.org
kk05/08/03
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