Prnewsnow Reach the World NOW

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

ABC News Producer Applauded by Rural Breeders For Winning Murrow Award



C 20/20 with John Stossel aired an investigative report called, Cruelty to Owners which has garnered prestigious recognition for investigative journalism through the work of producer Melissa Cornick; including the 2006 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award, The National Headliner'ss Award and the Mongerson $5000 Prize for Ethics in Reporting held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC , the 2006 Cine Golden Eagle and the Clarion Award. Animal owners across rural America are expressing thanks to Cornick for the ABC News report. The RTNDA awards ceremony will be held in NYC on October 16th, 2006.


August 30, 2006 -- On June 3, 2005 ABC 20/20 with John Stossel aired an investigative report called, Cruelty to Owners which has garnered prestigious recognition for investigative journalism through the work of producer Melissa Cornick; including the 2006 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award, The National Headliner'ss Award and the Mongerson $5000 Prize for Ethics in Reporting held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC , the 2006 Cine Golden Eagle and the Clarion Award. Animal owners across rural America are expressing thanks to Cornick for the ABC News report. The RTNDA awards ceremony will be held in NYC on October 16th, 2006.    




20/20'ss Cruelty to Owners focused on the wrongful accusations and seizures of animals by SPCAs using tactics of painting rural animal owners and breeders as abusers, and working with the local media, the police and the courts to publicize raids and gain ownership of seized animals to make money. In every case, the animals's own veterinarians said they were healthy or should not have been seized.



During the arduous investigation, Cornick, an award-winning television news producer, worked solo to meticulously source rural breeders across the nation for word-of-mouth help on local news footage and background about some 60 raids. The stories of local news reporters trespassing on properties to shout on-camera accusations of abuse (which often resulted in anonymous death threats by news viewers) were told in many tearful accounts over a period of several monthsNews reports of raids result in large donations by the public to SPCAs. Court documents gathered on animal abuse cases indicated a lack of due process rights because of state laws that were lobbied for by rescue groups. Those laws insure that rescue groups immediately own all animals seized-- before guilt or innocence on cruelty charges was proven. Finally, Cornick randomly chose an SPCA in order to go along on a raid.



As part of the investigation, Cornick conducted a national search for an expert to help assess the condition of seized animals. California veterinarian, Dr. Gaylon Teslaa volunteered. To maintain his cover, Cornick asked that he serve as her cameraman. Incredibly, the investigating duo captured on tape, a civilian rescuer, Dave Garcia of the SPCA of Texas, who without legal authority, successfully petition a judge to sign a seizure warrant.



Unlike the actions of news reporters in previous raids, Cornick gained permission to go on a property about to be raided, by first calling the shocked owner.Dr. Teslaa observed that the animals were healthy and should never have been seized. 20/20 later learned that some of the animals had been put to sleep.



Cornick'ss previous-award winning reports include one outstanding investigation, Town on Trial, which uncovered the wrongful imprisonment of 1/4 of the adilt black population in Tulia, Texas for drug dealing, and which saw the ultimate release of those prisoners from up to 60 year sentences. More recently, the rural breeders involved in Cruelty to Owners say her efforts represent the first time that they felt they could trust the media to tell their stories of warrantless raids, no due process in court, death threats, and devastated lives. The report also represents the first time a news report showed how local reporters got the story wrong. Background on the awards for Cruelty to Owners awards include:



1. THE NATIONAL HEADLINER'sS AWARD - 2005 Best Investigative report in broadcast media: (The National Headliners Award is the oldest journalism award organization in the U.S.)



2. THE MONGERSON AWARD - 2005 Best Investigative report in electronic media - for pointing to unethical and slanted reports news reports. This award is from Northwestern University Journalism Dept in Washington D C forcuses on ethics in journalism and carries a $5,000 prize



3. THE RTNDA EDWARD R MURROW AWARD for Best National TV Investigative report, one of the most coveted awards in journalism. This RTNDA or RADIO TELEVISION NEWS DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION is the news industry'ss esteemed national association which promotes honesty and a code of ethics in investigative journalism. The venerable Edward R. Murrow helped establish this organization.



4. CINE GOLDEN EAGLE AWARDS - Renowned for the Golden Eagles it awards for excellence in documentary and other informational film and video production, CINE will celebrate its first half-century in 2007.These awards should signal that the national press needs to continue to delve deeper into the other side of the non-profit rescue groups, including SPCA/Humane Societies which conspire with local law enforcement to disenfranchise animal enterprise businesses and pet owners across our nation.



5. CLARION AWARD - An American award for excellence in communications. It is administered by the Association for Women in Communications



Owners and breeders want to again thank all across the nation who assisted in the investigation to expose these criminals and to make Cruelty To Owners the success that it has been. Producer Melissa Cornick has continued to show appreciation and acknowledgement for the critical help she received from those who suffered through harm because of the raids. This award-winning report is a starting place for other journalists to step up to the plate to protect the rights of Americans.






Prnewsnow Reach the World NOW

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| Coaching | Coaches Consultants | quality coaching content |




Last 1000 Articles Submitted XML FEEDS FOR ORGANIZED NEWS