Thomas Frank, Easy Chair columnist for Harper�s Magazine, and Bob Davis, editor of the Anniston Star, in Anniston, Ala., have been honored as opinion journalists of the year by the Association of Opinion Journalists (AOJ).
Founded in 1947 as the National Conference of Opinion Writers, AOJ is a professional organization dedicated to advancing the craft of opinion journalism through education, professional development, exploration of issues of public importance and vigorous advocacy within journalism. AOJ is committed to promoting a healthier civic culture by raising the standards for public debate.
�Only a writer with the talent and dexterity of Thomas Frank could keep a reader engaged for 2,500 words on the difficulty he had finding his way inside the Wisconsin Capitol building to report on the struggle to save collective bargaining,� wrote the judges about the Harper�s Magazine columnist. �Only such a writer could so perfectly capture the financial world we�re stuck in -- ridden as it is with fraud -- by calling it the 'Age of Enron,' then make you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Thomas Frank of Harper�s Magazine writes highly visual and persuasive commentary. He draws readers in with thorough reporting on political and social issues, then pulls them along by explaining how we got here, who put us here, what it all means and how we can get the heck out. Frank�s long-form essays have a distinct point of view. He makes you feel like he�s on your side. Frank's writing is smart, erudite and informative but with a light, accessible touch, making him the stand-out writer of the year.�
About Bob Davis, the judges wrote, �Bob Davis' columns have the best anchor any local newspaper could have -- a sense of place. Whether he's doing a devastating takedown of one state Sen. Scott Beason or advocating literacy programs (as opposed to absurd immigrant laws), the voice is always that of a thoughtful Alabama Southern gentleman who's considered all arguments. Even the requisite post-disaster column has charm, context and depth. Besides, anybody smart enough to use the 'Band of Brothers' speech from 'Henry V' to spank the latest of a host of bad Alabama governors, while continuing to pound away at the evergreen topic of revising the 1901 state constitution, is showing writing and thinking chops far beyond most of us.�
Frank was chosen from the circulation of 100,000 and more category, and Davis from the circulation of 100,000 or less category. This is the second win for Davis.
AOJ also presented an award to The Kansas City Star as the nation�s top opinion pages
�Anyone who thinks newspapers are dead obviously hasn�t been reading the opinion pages of the Kansas City Star, � wrote the judges. �Seven days a week, these pages publish opinion journalism that is lively, well written, attractively engaged and � most important -- engaged in questions that are vital to the health of communities in Kansas
