O'Donoghue wins Alaska Press Club award
April 27, 2016
Brian O’Donoghue, professor of journalism, received the First Amendment Award from
the Alaska Press Club for his student-assisted coverage of the innocence claims of
four men imprisoned for John Hartman's 1997 murder. His 14-year investigation provided
the foundation for the Alaska Innocence Project's litigation seeking exoneration of
the Fairbanks Four — Marvin Roberts, Eugene Vent, George Frese and Kevin Pease. In
a settlement this December, their convictions were dismissed, all charges were erased
and they walked free after 18 years.
Jeff Richardson, a former Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter now with UAF Marketing
and Communications, won first place in the Best Reporting on Health category for his
article, "Road to solving Alaska's alcohol problem filled with roadblocks, challenges."
The story was part of Paths to Recovery, a series on Alaska's search for solutions
to alcohol abuse.
Diana Campbell, with the Geophysical Institute's public information office, won a
second-place award in the Best Culture Reporting category for "Finding Home and Heritage
in the Berry Patch," written for the News-Miner.
The awards were announced last week. For a complete list, visit the Alaska Press Club website.