Youth

I was honored and pleased when Stephen Ward asked me to give this talk. It’s a subject close to home, this question of how we maintain journalism standards in the midst of profound journalism change

This is a story that will challenge consciences and emotions.

Merco Vernaschi, for the Pulitzer Center

(Editor's note at end of post)

During the past week a few blogs have unleashed a wave of criticism on my work about child sacrifice in Uganda, questioning my ethics and values and the Pulitzer Center's guidelines. Much of the criticism has focused on the picture of Margaret Babirye Nankya, a child who was killed during a ritual sacrifice, and whose body was exhumed to be photographed.

The American Society of Journalists and Authors recently announced the winners of its annual writing awards. Wiltenburg won first place in the Profiles category for "Lost in Migration."

She also received a special citation from the Education Writers Association, which recently announced its 2009 winners for education reporting for "Little Bill Clinton: A Day in the Life of a New American."

Marco Vernaschi's Pulitzer Center-funded project on child sacrifice has generated fierce criticism, directed both toward Vernaschi's reporting methods and ethics and the role of the Pulitzer Center in backing this project. The issues raised are serious and we address them here.

Pulitzer Center grantee Meredith May's piece for the San Francisco Chronicle, "Olga's Girls," is a finalist for the Harry Chapin Media Awards.

Senators introduce Child Protection Compact Act, a bill providing the State Department with additional tools to combat child trafficking, exploitation and enslavement.

Peter Sawyer, Pulitzer Center

Image from Steve Sapienza and Glenn Baker's Easy Like Water project on floating schools in Bangladesh

From the women who spend hours daily fetching water to political battles over international rivers to melting icepack and rising sea levels, the water issue affects us all, and we all contribute to it.

Tonight, ABC's 20/20 will air the Pulitzer Center supported reporting project by journalists Dane Liu and Carmen Russell on child slavery in Haiti.

Pulitzer Center grantee Meredith May receives an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for her work on the project "Olga's Girls," which tells the story of indentured servants in Nepal.

Tatum Taylor, Pulitzer Center

As the post-election drama continues and publicity over the US military's counterinsurgency strategies grows, journalists are increasingly turning their attention towards Afghanistan. Pulitzer Center journalists have been consistently reporting from Afghanistan in order to inform the conversation, and we wanted to share with you the range of their work.

Pulitzer Center grantee Mary Wiltenburg talks about her work for Christian Science Monitor on “Little Bill Clinton,” a refugee displaced by the conflicts in Congo and Rwanda, currently living in Atlanta, Georgia.