Clean sweep for Pala
Webmaster Richard W. Hughes at the
2004 Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Awards
August 4, 2004 – Richard W. Hughes took home three prizes at the
recent Richard T. Liddicoat Awards presented by the American
Gem Society (AGS).
The AGS developed the Richard
T. Liddicoat Journalism Awards in Liddicoat’s remembrance
to honor journalists that have made exceptional contributions
to the understanding of gemology, as well as AGS ideals of
ethics, education and consumer protection.
First prize in the Industry/Trade Reporting
category went to John L. Emmett, Kenneth Scarratt, Shane F.
McClure, Thomas Moses, Troy R. Douthit, Richard Hughes, Steven
Novak, James Shigley, Wuyi Wang, Owen Bordelon and Robert
E. Kane for their Gems & Gemology article, “Beryllium
Diffusion of Ruby and Sapphire.” This article also
won the Dr.
Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award readers’
poll at Gems & Gemology.
Richard W. Hughes on his way to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, December 2003. |
An honorable mention
went to Charles Ellias and Richard Hughes for “The
Kimberley Process: Appeasement comes to the diamond trade”
published at Hughes’ personal web site, Ruby-Sapphire.com.
A second honorable mention went to Richard Hughes and Brian
Leber for their article on US sanctions against Burma entitled
“Banned!
Burmese gems in the crossfire,” also published at
Ruby-Sapphire.com.
At the 2003 awards, Hughes earned an Honorable Mention for
“Walking
the line in ruby & sapphire,” which was published
at Palagems.com.
This year, Honorable mentions also went
to Rob Bates of JCK magazine for “Cut
From the Same Cloth,” and Victoria Gomelsky of National
Jeweler for
“Trade Worries Over Mounting Skepticism Among Consumers.”
Melissa Gagliardi of the Gannett
News Service won in the national consumer reporting category
for her article, “Take a Strand: Classic Pearls Add
Luster to Casual and Dressy Looks.” Ruben Rosario of
the St. Paul Pioneer Press won in the local consumer reporting
category for his article, “Romantic Leads.”
The awards were presented at the
Circle of Distinction Dinner on Tuesday during the JA NY Show
at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. Each recipient
will receive a check for $1,500, an etched crystal award,
and the Society will donate $1,000 to the Richard T. Liddicoat
Scholarship Fund at the Gemological Institute of America in
the name of each award recipient.
Liddicoat Award judges were chosen from
the top journalism schools in the United States. This year’s
judges included Glen T. Cameron, Maxine Wilson Gregory chair
in journalism research, Columbia School of Journalism at the
University of Missouri; Quint Randle, assistant professor
of print journalism at Brigham Young University and David
L. Nelson, chair newspaper department, and associate professor
at Medill School of Journalism of Northwestern University.