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Asia Society Announces Winner of
the
THE OSBORN ELLIOTT PRIZE FOR
EXCELLENCE IN ASIAN JOURNALISM
JOHN POMFRET OF THE WASHINGTON
POST
RECEIVES $10,000 AWARD FOR HIS INSIDE LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL
CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN CHINA
February 25, 2004 (New York City)—Asia Society announced
tonight that John Pomfret of The Washington Post is the second
recipient of the Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in
Asian Journalism. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek
International and chair of the independent jury that oversees
the selection process, presented Mr. Pomfret with the $10,000
award at the Society’s annual dinner. Mr. Zakaria praised
Mr. Pomfret for his remarkable ability to present the historical
changes taking place in China from uniquely human vantage
points. “Pomfret combines high intelligence, boundless
curiosity, and fluid prose—the ingredients that make
up great journalism,” stated Mr. Zakaria to the Asia
Society audience.
In the six years that he covered China for The Washington
Post, Mr. Pomfret described characters, situations, places
and events with unrivalled familiarity and detail. Whether
covering China’s response to SARS or the rise of Chinese
businessmen or the changing Communist Party, Mr. Pomfret reported
on issues of great complexity from the inside out. With his
fluent, colloquial Mandarin and adventuresome spirit, he penetrated
far below the surface to join the ranks of pioneering China
hands. His prescience and understanding of the tremendous
changes taking place in that country could be summarized in
a piece he wrote in 1999: “The quest for something to
believe in has become so universal and profound that it is
one of the unifying characteristics of life in China today.
Farmers talk about it, migrant workers in China’s cities
talk about it. It is a preoccupation of intellectuals, students
and members of the new business class.”
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Pomfret received a B.A.
and M.A. from Stanford University in East Asian Studies. In
1983-84, he spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar at Singapore’s
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies researching the Cambodian
conflict. Mr. Pomfret’s positions at The Washington
Post have taken him from the Balkans, Africa and Europe to
Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and China, where he served as Beijing
bureau chief from 1998 to 2003. Prior to joining The Post,
he reported for The Associated Press in Beijing, Hong Kong,
the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia
and Southeast Asia, much of it in conflict situations. In
addition to Chinese, Mr. Pomfret speaks French, Japanese and
Serbo-Croatian.
The “Oz Prize” honors legendary journalist and
author Osborn Elliott, former editor-in-chief of Newsweek,
who set new standards for reporting and editing and became
one of the earliest practitioners of “civic journalism”—
the deliberate focusing of the journalistic enterprise on
urgent issues of public policy. Asia Society announces the
$10,000 award every year at its annual dinner. Elisabeth Rosenthal
of The New York Times was awarded the prize last year for
her groundbreaking coverage of the AIDS crisis in China. Criteria
for the prize include consideration for the impact of the
work, its originality, creativity, depth of research and educational
value in informing the public about Asia.
In addition to Mr. Zakaria, the jury for the Osborn Elliott
Prize includes Carroll R. Bogert, Communications Director
for Human Rights Watch; Ian Buruma, noted author and Luce
Professor of Democracy, Human Rights and Journalism at Bard
College; Henry Cornell, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs
and Asia Society trustee; Barbara Crossette, author and contributor
to The New York Times; Walter Isaacson, President and CEO
of The Aspen Institute; Joe Klein, best selling author and
columnist for Time; and Joseph Lelyveld, former executive
editor of The New York Times.
About Asia Society
Asia Society is America’s leading institution dedicated
to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between
Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. A nonprofit,
nonpartisan educational institution, Asia Society presents
a wide range of programs including major art exhibitions,
performances, media programs, international conferences and
lectures, and initiatives to improve elementary and secondary
education about Asia. The Asia Society is headquartered in
New York City, with regional centers in Washington, D.C.,
Houston, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia,
San Francisco, Manila and Shanghai.
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City.
(212) 517-ASIA, www.asiasociety.org
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kk02/25/04
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