2006 Winners of Anson Jones, MD, Media Awards

The 2006 Anson Jones, MD, Awards competition attracted nearly 100 total entries. More than half of the submissions were from print publication categories, while the balance were in television and radio categories. Council on Communication physician members Jessica A. Alexander, MD; Edward A. Dominguez, MD; James Eskew, MD; Melissa Garretson, MD; Joseph C. Perkinson III, MD; and Margaret Coon, MD, joined forces with 12 former journalists to comprise the 18 judges on the print and broadcast judging panels. The group awarded seven winners, eight citations of merit, and three honorable mentions. Winners receive $1,000 and a plaque; citation of merit recipients receive $250 and a framed certificate; honorable mention winners receive a framed certificate. Additionally each winning newspaper and station receive a copy of the award.

Print categories included "Publications with circulation of 100,000 or more," "Publications with circulation of less than 100,000," and "In-depth print," for longer works and series. Television and radio entries also were divided according to their potential audience size, with a large-market category for broadcasters from Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, or Austin, and a smaller-market category for broadcasters from the rest of the state. An "In-depth television" category for longer stories or series rounds out the field. Several winning entries featured  important TMA issues, including care for Texas' aging population, stem cell research, and the flu pandemic.

The 2006 Anson Jones, MD, Award winners are:

• Janet St. James and David Carter, WFAA-TV, Dallas, for "Germs"
• Karin McCay, Samuel Ortega, Ruben Villarreal, Kale Steed, and Nathan Boyd, KCBD-TV, Lubbock, for "'Til death do us part"
• Sujata Dand, Stewart Mayer, and Rick Thompson, KERA-TV, Dallas, for "Life in the balance: The health care crisis in Texas"
• Amy Chodroff, WBAP radio, Dallas, for "Clinically speaking"
• Bob Moos, Dallas Morning News, Dallas, for "As baby boomers age, where's the doctor boom to treat them?"
• Jennifer C. Smith, The Monitor, McAllen, for "Staying abreast"
• Carolyn Poirot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, for "Saved blood, saved lives"

The 2006 citations of merit are awarded to:

• Seema Mathur, KEYE-TV, Austin, for "Low-cost drugs"
• Sonia Azad and Cornelio Bravo, KXXV-TV, Waco, for "HCM"
• Ridhi Mehra, KJTV Fox34-TV, Lubbock, for "Teens and sex"
• Karin McCay, Ruben Villarreal, Samuel Ortega, John Berry, and Nathan Boyd, KCBD-TV, Lubbock, for "Colon cancer clues"
• Ed Mayberry, KUHF radio, Houston, for "Flu pandemic"
• Cindy Tumiel, Kin Man Hui, and Don Finley, San Antonio Express-News , San Antonio, for "A doctor is in the house"
• Brian Knox, Wise County Messenger , Decatur, for "Breast cancer proves to be life defining experience for… high school senior"
• Carolyn Poirot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, for "The stem cell revolution"

The 2006 honorable mentions are awarded to:

• Janet St. James, WFAA-TV, Dallas, for "Desperate decisions"
• Bob Moos, Dallas Morning News , Dallas, for "Doctor's wisdom comes with age"
• Kathryn Garcia, Corpus Christi Caller-Times , Corpus Christi, for "Surgery brings new hope"

Like last year, the Council on Communication chose to replace the traditional ceremonial reception at TexMed  with presentations at the winners' newspapers and stations. Physician leaders make the presentations as a surprise to winners, in front of their managers and peers. Presenting this way represents a significant cost savings to TMA, while imprinting a positive image of physicians, TMA, and the local county medical society in the minds of the recipient media. Physician presenters include Council on Communication members and other TMA physician leaders, as well as physician leaders from several county medical societies.

TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2006