Barbara Jordan Media Awards
Each year the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, in conjunction with local committees throughout the state, accepts nominations for media professionals and students who have produced material for the public which accurately and positively reports on individuals with disabilities, using People First language and respectful depictions. Nominations can be submitted by anyone, including the producer of the piece, by completing the submission form and sending it with any necessary supporting materials to the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities.
A panel of judges, including media professionals and people with disabilities, score the entries and collectively select the winners. Each year the decisions for the judges become more difficult as more quality entries are received in the categories of Print Feature, Print News, Photojournalism, TV Feature, TV Documentary, Special Contribution by an Organization, Internet, etc. See Submission Guidelines and Entry Form for complete list of categories.
For teachers and students of journalism, THE SCOOP is an educational video produced by the Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities. This informative and interactive 45 minute training session titled "The Scoop on Reporting About People with Disabilities" illustrates how to interact with and report about people with disabilities. The video incorporates open captioning and audio description to show media accessibility. The video, lesson plans, and related documents can be viewed for free on our Website, or teachers can contact the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities directly for a DVD and paper copies.
The Barbara Jordan Media Awards are named in honor of the Houston native and U.S. congresswoman who gained recognition and a place of honor in history. She was known as a remarkable orator who broke barriers and built bridges. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and served for one day in 1972 as the Governor of Texas (both Governor Preston Smith and Lt. Governor Ben Barnes were out of state). In 1973, Jordan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and eventually began to use a cane and then a wheelchair. Barbara Jordan passed away in 1996.
The Barbara Jordan Media Award itself is a beautiful three-inch bronze medallion designed by David Deming, an internationally prominent sculptor, and is presented to winners in several categories each year at an awards ceremony hosted by one of the many local committees throughout the state.
Elements in past winning entries include:
- Portraying people with disabilities as independent and productive.
- Focusing on stories about people first and disability second.
- Using people with disabilities as sources, rather than as examples.
- Placing coverage in appropriate subject area (e.g. sports covered in sports section).
To be eligible, entries must have been produced and offered to the public between January 1 and December 31 of the current year and submitted to our office by January 15 of the following year.
Download and print a Barbara Jordan Media Awards Brochure (PDF)
2012 Award Ceremony for 2011 Submissions
Barbara Jordan Media Awards Ceremony - Saturday, April 28, 2012, 6:00 PM, San Marcos. Hosted by Texas State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication. For information, contact Jo Virgil at 512-463-5740.
2011 Barbara Jordan Media Award Winners (for 2010 submissions)
The 2011 Barbara Jordan Media Awards was hosted by the University of Texas Division of Diversity and Community Engagement in partnership with Bank of America, the University of Texas College of Communications, and the University of Texas Student Government Students with Disabilities Agency in Austin.
Book Category
Challenged to Win
Nancy Shugart, author
Print Commentary
Daughter Was Mostly Invisible
Sarah Barnes, Austin American-Statesman
Print Feature
About a Boy
Michael Hall, Texas Monthly Magazine
Print News
UT Arlington Hosts 27 Injured Soldiers
Patrick Walker, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Student
Poster Series: The Deaf Are Just Like Everyone Else
Gabriela Hanrahan, Barbara Jordan High School for Careers, Houston
Entertainment
Temple Grandin: HBO Special
Mike Jackson, Director
Internet
Defined by His Successes
Melissa Mixon, UT Austin Cockrell School of Engineering
Photojournalism
Journey into the World of Autism
Eli Meir Kaplan, Time.com
Special Contribution/Organization
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD)
CTD Film Festival; Haitian Amputee Soccer Team
Dennis Borel, Executive Director
TV Documentary (TIE)
The Eyes of Me
Keith Maitland, Illegal Films
For Once in My Life
Goodwill Industries of South Florida
TV Feature:
Actors with Disabilities Find Open Arms
Jim Swift, KXAN-TV, Austin
TV Feature, Extended
Sideline Signer
Bob Phillips, Texas Country Reporter, Dallas
View Past Barbara Jordan Media Award Winners