Jason Fudge

Liz Murray, from the Pentagon TV channel and Dave Hugel, former Marine CC, served as judges for the broadcast (radio and television) segment. Photo by Sgt. Jeremy Vought of Marines TV

The review and analysis, sometimes involving spirited debate, consumed about 32 hours in four separate sessions over a two-day period. When it ended on March 6, the 12 judges, meeting in Washington , D.C. , had selected the best from nearly 1,000 entries in this year’s USMCCCA and the Marine Corps’ Division of Public Affairs Merit Awards program.
And a consensus seemed to emerge from the volunteer civilian judges that perhaps this 41st annual competition ranked as one of the very best, at least over recent years.
The first place winners in 47 categories encompassing photo, print and broadcast journalism, along with the runners up, will be honored at the USMCCCA’s gala awards banquet during the annual conference at Hampton , VA in September.

Chas Henry

“We reviewed a great deal of solid journalistic craft,” said broadcast judge and former Marine CC Chas Henry, currently executive director of communications at the U.S. Naval Institute. “Few of the many broadcast entries, however, related to activities in Iraq or Afghanistan …the public affairs community is doing a disservice to Marines in the field if it is not applying its internal electronic production skills to tell stories of Marines’ extraordinary accomplishments.”
Henry added: “I was encouraged to see continued improvement in the overall quality of these productions. I’d encourage Marines to consider their storytelling work an obligation. Marines are in tough places, undertaking tough work on behalf of their fellow citizens – too often out of sight of those Americans back home. Don’t let their efforts go unseen.”

(more…)