Unknown filmers of Iran protest death, NY Times writer kidnapped by Taliban win Polk Awards

Filmers of Iran protest death win Polk Award in NY

NEW YORK — The unnamed people who videotaped and publicized the shooting death of an Iranian protester have been chosen to receive a George Polk journalism award in New York.

Other winners of the 2009 Polk Awards include New York Times correspondent David Rohde for detailing his kidnapping by the Taliban and New Yorker magazine writer David Grann for casting doubt on the guilt of an executed Texas convict.

Reporters on stories about criminal activity connected to Wisconsin’s $350 million child care program and about tough conditions inside an Illinois prison also won awards Tuesday.

Former Philadelphia Inquirer executive editor Gene Roberts won a career award.

The awards are among the top prizes in U.S. journalism. They were created in 1949 to honor a CBS reporter killed covering the Greek civil war.