THE SCRAPBOOK is pleased to note the establishment of the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism, in memory of the New York Post columnist and WEEKLY STANDARD contributor who died last March at the age of 42. News Corporation, Breindel's employer and the corporate parent of this magazine, has pledged $ 250,000 to the Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation, sponsor of the new award.
The foundation will present an annual prize of a minimum of $ 10,000 to the columnist or editorialist whose work best reflects the spirit that animated Breindel's writings: love of this country and its democratic institutions and the act of bearing witness to the evils of totalitarianism. The Breindel Award will be the most lucrative prize in the field of opinion journalism in the United States.
The announcement of the prize was made by News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who hired Breindel as editorial page editor of the New York Post in 1986. "Eric Breindel was a passionate and courageous conservative voice at a time when it was distinctly unfashionable," Murdoch said. "We can't think of a better way to honor him than to encourage the kind of excellence in newspaper opinion journalism he exemplified."
A confidential panel appointed by the foundation will judge the entries. Those who wish to be considered should submit no more than five editorials or columns written in 1998. Submissions, accompanied by a $ 25 entry fee, are required before April 15. The winner will be announced in June. Those interested should write to the Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036.