In These Times Nominated for 2011 Utne Annual Independent Press Award

CHICAGO (April 14, 2011) - Utne Reader, the national magazine featuring the best of the alternative press, has named In These Times as one of the nominees for its 22nd annual Utne Independent Press Awards. In These Times is nominated in the category of Political Coverage. The winners will be revealed May 18 at the Independent Magazine Media Conference in San Francisco.

The Utne Independent Press Awards recognize the distinctiveness and vitality of alternative and independent publishing. In These Times previously won for Best Political Coverage award in 2006, and for Investigative Journalism in 1989 and Cultural Coverage in 1990 (back when the Utne awards were known as the Alternative Press Awards).

“Our awards are designed to celebrate those independent and alternative periodicals that give readers a fresh take on their world,” says Utne Reader Editor in Chief David Schimke. “And that’s often accomplished by focusing on people, places, and ideas that are either misrepresented or ignored by big media.”

In 2010, stories covered by In These Times but ignored by big media included the return of death squads in Honduras and how the private prison
industry helped shape Arizona’s anti-immigrant law. The magazine also gave a platform to Noam Chomsky’s thoughts on the ongoing march of globalization.

Utne Reader‘s editors nominate publications through an extensive reading process and yearlong examination. All elements, from covers to coverage, are taken into consideration when selecting the nominees and eventually the winners. The nominees will appear in the May-June issue of Utne Reader, which is on newsstands April 19, and online at Utne.com.

For more information or to coordinate an interview or on-air appearance with In These Times writers or staff, please contact Joe Macaré, Communications Director, at (773) 772-0100 ext. 240 or joe@inthesetimes.com.