Last month, the U.S. military honored Army Staff Sgt. Erick Ritterby as the Broadcast Journalist of the Year for 2003 during its Thomas Jefferson Award ceremony to recognize excellence in broadcast and print journalism during a ceremony held at Fort George G. Meade, MD.
Ritterby, 26, of Phoenix, AZ, is a reporter and anchor for Army Newswatch at the Soldiers Radio and Television center in Alexandria, VA. Ritterby, who had never before entered the contest since beginning his military-journalism career in 1997, was recognized for having the best overall submissions. One in particular, “Bracelets of Love,” about a young girl who made 50,000 bracelets for deployed troops, was deemed one of the top broadcast submissions.
The Thomas Jefferson Awards recognize military and civilian employees who advance the communications objectives of the Department of Defense. CBS News managing editor and anchor of the CBS Evening News Dan Rather delivered a keynote address during the ceremony.
Other winners in the broadcast categories include:
- Television Spot Production – Force Protection – Ninja, Marine Cpl Adam Tustin, American Forces Network Iwakuni, Detachment 13, Armed Forces Network News, Marine Corp Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan
- Television Report – Scout Sniper School, Marine Cpl. Andrew Revelos, USMC Q-TV, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA
- Television Feature Report – Bracelets of Love, Army Staff Sgt. Erick Ritterby, USA Soldiers Radio & TV, Alexandria, VA
- Local Television Newscast – Incirlik Nightly News, American Forces Network Incirlik, Incirlik Airbase, Turkey
- Regional Television Newscast – First Place, American Forces Network Evening News, American Forces Network Europe, Frankfurt, Germany; Honorable Mention, Air Force Prime Time, Air Force Regional News Center, Europe, Detachment 4, Armed Forces Network News, Ramstein Airbase, Germany
- Command Information Campaign – Click on SHAPE, American Forces Network SHAPE, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, Mons, Belgium
- Outstanding Flagship Television Program – Air Force Television News, Air Force News Service, Electronic News Branch, Lackland Air Force Base, TX
For more information, please visit: www.dinfos.osd.mil/tj2003awards.pdf.
