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Regina was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary in
both 2008 and 2009. In
making
their final awards and decisions this year, the Pulitzer jurists said this
about Regina:
“For
her range of compelling columns that move the heart, challenge authority
and often trigger
action
while giving readers deeper insight into life’s challenges.” Her
nominated columns can
be
found at www.cleveland.com/brett.
She’s won two two first place National Headliner Awards, one for columns
about her
experience
with breast cancer; the other detailing her family history (“The
Inheritance”) with
the
same subject. She also won a 2nd place Headliner Award for a series of
stories about the
"Hicks
Babies," a national story about people who were sold as babies in a
black market
operation
at the Hicks Clinic in Georgia to adoptive parents in Ohio the late
1950's. After
Regina
broke the story, it ran in newspapers across the country, prompting calls
from 60 Minutes,
Dateline
NBC, the BBC and scores of other media outlets.
Regina won the prestigious Batten Medal in 1999, awarded by Knight-Ridder
for lifetime
achievement.
The award is given to those who embody understanding, fairness, courage
and a
deep
concern for the underdog. In addition, Regina was a finalist for another
Batten Medal in
2009,
this time for her body of work last year, including columns on open
discovery and
Cleveland
police officer Jim Simone and her series on passing the breast cancer gene
on to her
daughter.
It was recently announced that The American Bar Association will award
Regina the
organization's
Silver Gavel award for her columns on open discovery. This particular
award is
given
to media professionals who help foster the public's understanding of the
law and legal
system.
The award to Regina was based numerous columns about how the restriction
of open
discovery
rules, where prosecutors share police reports and records with defense
attorneys,
affected
criminal cases in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
She also won a humor writing award from the National Society of Newspaper
Columnists.
Regina
has received numerous state and local awards. The recipient of two Awards
of
Achievement
from Northern Ohio Live, the magazine said that “Regina’s column is
the heart” of
the
paper and “represents the soul” of the community.
In 2009, Regina received “Best Columnist in Ohio” from the Associated
Press of Ohio. In 2003,
both
The Press Club of Cleveland and The Society for Professional Journalists
gave Regina their
“Best
Columnist in Ohio” award. The latter said, “Regina Brett does what not
enough local
columnists
are doing these days. With the righteous indignation of the muckrakers of
old, she
gives
voice to the local issues and people who need it most. A good local
columnist should be the
conscience
of a community. Regina Brett succeeds." |
