Lois Norder |
Lois Norder, managing editor of investigations at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has won The 2008 Mimi Award for her exceptional work as an editor. The Mimi is conferred by the Dart Society, an independent group of journalists dedicated to promoting sensitive coverage of victims of violence. Norder is the award’s second recipient.
The Mimi Award was created to honor the memory of Providence Journal editor Mimi Burkhardt, who died unexpectedly in December 2004.
Mimi Burkhardt |
Burkhardt inspired those around her to live up to high ideals and to produce solid journalism with heart. The award recognizes editors who follow her example, fostering excellence while maintaining a keen understanding of how to navigate the emotional landscape of assignments involving tragedy and trauma.
Norder was nominated by a group of journalists who say she champions and nurtures both the stories she edits and the reporters who write those stories.
“You can always go into her office and interrupt her. She’s completely available and committed to every aspect of the story,” says Yamil Berard, a projects reporter at the Star-Telegram. “You can ask her anything you want. You can tell her what your biggest fear on something is, and she is completely helpful.”
The Dart Society plans to present the award, which includes a $1,000 prize, at a ceremony at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
As managing editor of the Star-Telegram’s investigations team for the last six years, Norder has helped reporters uncover numerous local and statewide problems including shoddy health care for the poor; misuse of school tax dollars; mistreatment of prisoners; questionable decisions that put hundreds of city workers’ retirement benefits at risk; shortfalls in the levels of charity care provided by hospitals; and cutthroat deal-making of corporations and power brokers.
Her reporters describe her as an idea factory, writing guru, skeptical optimist and crusader for the underdog. She has inspired scores of reporters across the country.
Reporters who have left the Star-Telegram for larger publications, including The Wall Street Journal’s Jennifer Autrey Forsyth, say they would work for her again.
“Impressive was Lois’s editing of a story I wrote about a crime that no one was sure even occurred,” says Forsyth, referring to her award-winning piece, “The Threat Next Door.”
The story focused on a rape, or the possibility of a rape, at a state home for people with developmental disabilities. The victim gave intricate details about the assault at the hands of another ward of the school. Then, months later, he recanted.
“Many editors would have given up on the story, seeing it as too squishy,” Forsyth says. “Yet, Lois was able to see how in some ways the blurred facts made the story even more powerful. In the end, we made the case that school officials had an even greater obligation to safeguard against abuse, because traditional methods of investigation don’t work with such vulnerable and impressionable victims.”
Norder was chosen for The Mimi Award because of the compassion she shows for those abused by the system as she aggressively pursues watchdog stories. She has a reputation as an editor who brings that same compassion to her staff — pushing them to do their very best, but also to maintain a healthy life outside of work.
The Dart Society also has chosen an honorable mention for this year’s Mimi Award — Joan Walsh, editor-in-chief at Salon.com. Walsh’s nominators said that under her leadership the Salon staff has gotten “permission — and a steady nudge of encouragement — to care deeply about what [they] write about, to make it matter.”
The Dart Society solicited Mimi Award nominations from journalists and journalism organizations around the United States familiar with the society and its mission.
Norder and Walsh were among eight finalists considered for the award. Selection was made by a panel of journalists, all affiliated with the Dart Society or the Dart Center, who reviewed examples of the editors’ work, read letters of nomination and conducted interviews with the top finalists’ coworkers.
The nonprofit Dart Society includes journalists from 40 newspapers, wire services and broadcast organizations in the United States, Europe and Australia, as well as nearly two dozen award-winning freelance photographers and writers. Members have received fellowships and awards from the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, which is dedicated to improving coverage of trauma, conflict and tragedy.
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