Written by Theodore Ross
All of us at FERN were thrilled to learn earlier this week that, in collaboration with two of our valued partners, we were named a three-time finalist in the James Beard Media Awards.
One of the nominations was in the “Food Coverage in Popular Publications” category for an entire issue of the magazine co-published with a food theme in partnership with Switchyard, a great new literary magazine from the University of Tulsa. We also wrote “Foodways”, also from the Yard Special Issue, for Joli Lewis's wonderful essay “Why Watermelons Grow” on the cultural and social history of watermelon for Black Americans. It was also nominated in the category.
Not to brag, and that's exactly what I do, but our work with Switchyard has already been shortlisted for the National Magazine Award, and Joli's essay has been included in the 2024 edition of Best American. Selected for Food and Travel Writing. In addition, Julia O'Malley's article co-authored with Grist about the impact of the collapse of the snow crab fishery on Alaska's remote Native communities was nominated for Foodways.
About 15 years ago, I partnered with a nonprofit news organization to edit my first story, but the publisher's bosses were reluctant to allow me to collaborate in print. When this story came out, my contact at the nonprofit berated me loudly in an email. (If you're wondering if emails can get loud, trust me.)
Times have changed, and with them the norms of how the media industry works. This is not to say that power in publishing has shifted to nonprofit organizations. That's not how we think. As journalists, especially those with a specific mission related to food and the environment, we are most successful when we succeed with the help of others. Partnerships are why we exist and how we exist.
But in the current era of journalism, there is more space for dedicated, rigorous, and talented journalists, such as those I am fortunate to work with here at FERN and collaborate with at our partner companies. I'm happy about that.
If you read these stories and find them important, and I know you do, please consider donating. We believe in this work and rely on others who believe in it to keep it going.
As for the awards themselves, people often say it's an honor just to be nominated, and that's actually true. But here at his FERN, there's also a bit of a competitive spirit. So, fingers crossed!