The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation presented the 29th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes at the Foundation’s Annual Dinner on June 6, 2016, at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Foundation Chairman Red Cavaney presented the Awards to Greg Jaffe, reporter for The Washington Post, and Andrew deGrandpre, Senior Editor with the Military Times network.
Greg Jaffe, a reporter for The Washington Post since 2009, was presented with the 29th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2015. The $5,000 award recognizes journalists whose high standards for accuracy and substance help foster a better public understanding of the Presidency.
Jaffe began covering the White House for the Post in 2014. From 2000-2013 he covered the Pentagon and the U.S. military for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, traveling regularly to Iraq and Afghanistan. Jaffe shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for a series on defense spending and won the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense for coverage in 2002 and 2009.
During the presentation, Cavaney highlighted how Jaffe received the award. The Foundation’s Journalism Awards committee felt that Jaffe was able to muster a variety of sources inside and outside the White House, both critical and admiring, to explain the President’s (Barack Obama’s) evolving view of the proper role for American intervention in world conflicts. Jaffe also reported and wrote — from a White House that values highly the potentially transformative power of public remarks — notable insider accounts of high-profile Obama speeches, on American exceptionalism and the influence of Christianity in American public affairs.
Andrew deGrandpre, a senior editor with the Military Times network in Washington, DC, was presented with the 29th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense in 2015. The $5,000 award recognizes journalists whose high standards for accuracy and substance help foster a better public understanding of National Defense.
deGrandpre is a senior editor with the Military Times network in Washington, DC, the largest independent media organization covering the U.S. Armed Forces. He oversees investigations and enterprise storytelling.
deGrandpre has covered national security issues since 2004, with a focus on the United States Marine Corps.
As Marine Corps Times’ managing editor, a post he held from 2009 to 2014, deGrandpre led a months-long investigation into allegations the service’s top general abused his power to ensure several rank-and-file combat troops were punished for defiling enemy corpses.
During the presentation, Cavaney highlighted how deGrandpre received the award. The Foundation’s Journalism Awards committee felt that the investigative stories by Mr. deGrandpre explored the blurred lines between reality, perception, accusation, and missteps in the rush to judgement that characterize military operations today. In the “Task Force Violent” series, the Military Times reporter deftly described the formation and deployment of a new elite Marine Special Forces unit to Afghanistan, and the subsequent “wrongful branding” of these highly trained and dedicated men as suspected war criminals.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation sponsors the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and Distinguished Reporting on National Defense to recognize and encourage thoughtful, insightful, and enterprising work by journalists covering the presidency and national defense.
To learn more about the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Awards, please visit: https://geraldrfordfoundation.org/journalism-award-prizes/
