NatGeo senior executive editor named NLP’s 2020 John S. Carroll Journalist of the Year

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Indira Lakshmanan, senior executive editor at National Geographic and a veteran foreign and national correspondent, is the 2020 recipient of NLP’s John S. Carroll Journalist of the Year Award. Lakshmanan is a frequent TV and radio commentator on journalism and journalistic ethics, served as the first Newmark Chair in Journalism Ethics at the Poynter Institute, and was executive editor at the Pulitzer Center.

“Last year, Indira did a superb job leading the revised Understanding Bias lesson for Checkology,” said Alan C. Miller, NLP founder and CEO. “Her expertise on journalistic ethics and practices proved invaluable to the development of the lesson, during both the video shoot itself and in writing the script.”

In November 2019, at NLP’s request, Lakshmanan led a high-profile session on news literacy at the National Council for the Social Studies conference in Austin, Texas, and interviewed Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron on a keynote panel.

“It has been such an honor to get this award and a privilege to get to work with you and the next generation in teaching them about news literacy and the importance of reliable journalism to a healthy democracy and society,” Lakshmanan said.

Watch the video of Lakshmanan receiving her award:

Named for one of the most revered newspaper editors of his generation, this award is given annually to journalists who have contributed significantly to NLP and its mission. The honorees, who receive $500 and a glass plaque with an etched photo of Carroll, are selected by a committee of NLP board members and staff. During an acclaimed journalism career spanning four decades, Carroll was the editor of three major U.S. newspapers — the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, The Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times. He was a founding member of NLP’s board and served as its chair for four years until shortly before his death in 2015.