Judges' Award
Cox Washington Bureau

Bob Deans
Larry Kaplow
Bert Roughton Jr.
Scott Shepard
Marcia Kunstel
Joseph Albright

Long before the bombs began dropping in the Balkans in March 1999, Cox Newspapers correspondents had been on the story.

London correspondent Bert Roughton Jr. had traveled throughout the region, explaining the underlying tensions that would lead to war. White House correspondent Bob Deans, who had reported from war-torn Bosnia and covered the Dayton Peace Accords, alerted readers to the warnings from inside official Washington that bloodshed was imminent.

When the Balkans finally erupted, with hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians fleeing across their borders, our correspondents were waiting to hear their stories of terror and heartbreak. Cox correspondent Charles W. Holmes was pulled in from Moscow. Roughton returned from his post in London. Veteran Cox war correspondents Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel were diverted from our bureau in Beijing. Middle East correspondent Larry Kaplow came in from Jerusalem. Working on virtually no sleep amid horrendous conditions, they produced superbly reported pieces that were packed with emotion.

Back in Washington, Deans and Scott Shepard anchored the daily running story with full reports on diplomatic and military developments.

Many readers were moved by the "foreign journals" sent by the Cox correspondents from the Balkans. Some contacted us with thanks for giving so much attention to the story, and others wanted to know how to help the suffering Kosovars.

"Man's inhumanity is a story that should be reported first-hand," said Jay Smith, president of Cox Newspapers.

"It's difficult and draining work that only the very best should be allowed to handle. I am thankful for journalists like ours who are up to the task."