'Rochester D&C,' 'Farmington Daily Times' Editors Win Top Newspaper Diversity Awards

By: E&P Staff Troy Turner, editor of The Daily Times in Farmington, N.M., and Karen Magnuson, editor of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y., are the winners of the eighth annual Robert G. McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership, it was announced Friday.

The awards are given by the Freedom Forum in partnership with the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) and American Society of News Editors (ASNE). The awards, which include $2,500 each and a sculpture, will be presented at APME'S convention in St. Louis on Oct. 30.

Judges praised Turner and Magnuson for "their leadership, intensity and consistency in advancing diversity through content and staff development."

The award is named after former Detroit Free Press Executive Editor McGruder, who died in April 2002.

"In their newsrooms, their communities and their profession, Troy Turner and Karen Magnuson have embraced similar qualities that distinguished Bob McGruder," said Jack Marsh, vice president of the Freedom Forum and Diversity Institute. "They have not lost their focus and enthusiasm, despite the enormous challenges and changes facing the news industry in the past year. Their commitment to diversity is unwavering and an inspiration to others."

Magnuson, who won in the over-75,000 circulation category, has been editor of the Democrat and Chronicle the past 10 years and was president of APME in 2006-2007. The award judges said Magnuson "had made diversity a priority in both roles promoting diversity in her newsroom and community and on a national level."

In the under-75,000 circulation category, Turner was cited for "combating racism and advancing cultural diversity in the remote Four Corners region served by The Daily Times. Despite its limited resources and size, the newsroom has been an effective, courageous and creative advocate for diversity through content and staffing," the judges said.

Judges for the award were Calvin Stovall, executive editor, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y., representing APME; Marty Kaiser, editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, representing ASNE; Doris Truong, copy editor, The Washington Post, representing UNITY; last year's winners John Bodette, executive editor, St. Cloud (Minn.) Times, and Charles Pittman, senior vice president for publishing at Schurz Communications; and Marsh, representing the Freedom Forum.