Lawrence O’Donnell and the Plain Dealer’s Connie Schultz Among Planned Parenthood’s 2011 Maggie Award Winners for Media Excellence

The awards luncheon was part of Planned Parenthood’s annual Organizing and Policy Summit, which brings together hundreds of Planned Parenthood staff and volunteers from across the country, as well as hundreds of young high school and college activists.

“In the past year, we’ve seen serious legislative attacks on Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading women’s health care provider, and on reproductive health care overall,” said PPFA President Cecile Richards. “The media has played an important role in reporting and explaining these attacks to the public. We especially honor these journalists today for their smart, factual, and insightful work that highlights the devastating impact of attempts to undermine women’s health.”

This year’s Maggie Award winners covered topics from the federal and state-level attacks on Planned Parenthood and women’s health care, to women on the U.S.-Mexico border choosing dangerous alternatives to safe and legal abortion, to illuminating the conspiratorial connections between anti-abortion activists who advocate violence.

The 2011 Maggie Award Winners are

• Commentary: Connie Schultz, The Plain Dealer, for: “A Full-Scale Attack on Reproductive Rights”

• News Magazine Reporting: Laura Tillman, The Nation, for: “Crossing the Line”

• Women’s Magazine Reporting: Amanda Robb, Ms. Magazine, for: “Not a Lone Wolf”

• Online Reporting: Ryan Grim, The Huffington Post, for: “Behind the Assault on Planned Parenthood”

• Daily and Weekly Print Reporting: Jordan Smith, The Austin Chronicle, for: “The War on Women’s Health”

• TV News Reporting: Lawrence O’Donnell, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC, for his coverage of the recent federal and state-level legislative attacks on women’s health, family planning funding, and the work of Planned Parenthood.

The awards luncheon was hosted by Liane Hansen, the former senior host of National Public Radio’s award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday. She also received the 2001 National News and Documentary Award for her narration of “She Says/Women in News”.

“As a reporter, I am committed to journalistic excellence, and I am also deeply invested in the protection of women’s reproductive health care,” said Hansen. “I am delighted to be able to honor my colleagues who share both commitments. Through their intelligent investigative work, they have educated the American public and lawmakers alike on these important issues.”

You can read more about the Planned Parenthood Maggie Awards on our website and check back in early 2012 for the nomination forms for the 2012 awards.