Randy Gener Named Best Arts Reporting Finalist for 2010 SPJ Deadline Club Awards, June 7

For Immediate Release

April 9, 2010

NEW YORK CITY — The Deadline Club, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, is pleased to present this year's finalists for the 2010 Deadline Club Awards, one of New York City's most prestigious journalism awards. The announcement was made at a reception at the Midtown Executive Club in New York on Friday, April 9.

This year's judges have named Randy Gener as one of 3 finalists in the category of Best Arts Reporting for the 2010 Deadline Club Awards, honoring the best in New York City journalism. The winner will be announced during our Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria at 301 Park Avenue on Monday, June 7, 2010. Robert Thompson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Co., will be the keynote speaker.

Gener has been cited for his article "Fomenting a Denim Revolution," which appeared in the May/June 2009 edition of American Theatre magazine, published by Theatre Communications Group in New York City. Gener's article chronicles the plight of the guerilla artists of the Belarus Free Theatre who perform underground in Minsk while arguing openly for regime change outside their country.

The two other finalists in the Arts Reporting category are Benjamin Ivry, The Forward, “From the Kol Israel Orchestra to a Pygmy Choir,” and Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, “Preserving the City."

Finalists named in the other categories this year include journalists from The New York Times, The Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Fortune, Fast Company, Sports Illustrated, SmartMoney, ESPN and NY1 News. For a complete list of finalists, visit the 2010 Deadline Club Awards finalists.

The 2010 Deadline Club Awards honor the best in New York area journalism – printed, broadcast or otherwise distributed in 2009. With 31 categories, the focus ranges from newspapers to radio and television to online.

The Club's coveted “Rubes,” distinctive statuettes designed by the late Rube Goldberg, are awarded at a dinner each spring. At that dinner, scholarships are awarded to some of the city’s most outstanding journalism students. The scholarships are funded through the Deadline Club Foundation. The Club also maintains the New York Journalism Hall of Fame and elects and inducts its members.

The Deadline Club of New York City is one of the largest chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Our members include professionals working in broadcast, print, online and journalism education. The most important mission of SPJ and its chapters is fostering and defending freedom of the press under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. SPJ sends its constitutional lawyers to the aid of journalists who need assistance in exercising their rights. The Deadline Club has been serving the cause of New York City journalism for nearly 80 years.

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