Tarrant, Engelberg shine at Mimi Award Ceremony

The Dart Society presented the 2011 Mimi Award to Roanoke Times Editor Carole Tarrant at the newspaper Dec. 9, with honorable mention winner Steve Engelberg of ProPublica delivering an inspiring speech to the Roanoke Times staff.

Named for Providence Journal editor Mimi Burkhardt, who died unexpectedly in 2004, the Mimi Award is given each year since 2007 to a U.S. print, online or wire-service editor who demonstrates deep compassion for the journalists who cover tragedy and violence, and attention to the plight of the subjects of those stories.

Tarrant’s oversight of such stories, including the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech and its aftermath; coverage of returning veterans; and a 2010 collaboration between the Roanoke Times, the Dart Society and the Nieman Journalism Program at Harvard on a Roanoke woman’s mission in Haiti, demonstrate excellence in editorial leadership and community journalism, and commitment to getting the stories right.

“I’m honestly uncomfortable with this because mentally, as a journalist, I will always be a behind-the-scenes person,” Tarrant said in her acceptance speech. “I began my career as a copy editor, had a brief two-year stint as a bureau reporter and then was tapped for management before I was out of my 20s. I don’t live for a byline. I’m not sure if it’s because I was born shy or born hugely self-critical of my own writing. Making things happen for people — that’s what I do and what I enjoy doing and what lifts my sails. So if you’re giving me an award for that, alrighty then — I’m good with it.”

Tarrant was nominated for the award by 2011 Ochberg Fellow Beth Macy and Managing Editor Michael Stowe. Engelberg was nominated by ProPublica reporters Sheri Fink, A.C. Thompson and Tracy Weber.

Dart Society Vice President Arnessa Garrett and Director Deirdre Stoelzle Graves attended the ceremony, as did Ochberg Fellows Donna Alvis-Banks, Macy, and Kate Bramson, who worked for Mimi Burkhardt and co-founded the award. Mimi’s widower, Andy Burkhardt, also attended, along with Kate Chieco of Washington, D.C., who is providing consulting to the Dart Society.