WASHINGTON -- At a special awards banquet on January 8, U.S. Institute of Peace Senior Fellow and managing editor of the Connection Newspapers Kemal Kurspahic was given the 1999 award for the best Editorial Page for a weekly news publication in the state of Virginia. Given annually by the Virginia Press Association (VPA) at its Winter meeting, the VPA's editorial page contest is one of the country's largest such awards with over 5,000 nominations submitted in 1999 alone.

Kurspahic, who joined the Connection Newspapers in 1997, is one of three managing editors for the chain of 16 news weeklies that cover various aspects of life across the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, and manages content for the McLean, Great Falls, and Vienna, Virginia, editions of the paper.

Kurspahic, gained a reputation worldwide for his hard hitting reporting and journalistic integrity during his tenure as the editor-in-chief of the Sarajevo daily newspaper the Oslobodenje. He led the paper through three historic phases: its break from Communist Party control in the '80's, maintenance of its newly acquired independence through a constitutional court case in 1991, and production of daily publications without interruption in 1992-94 while the city was under siege during the Bosnian war.

He has received numerous awards for his work in journalism including World Press Review's International Editor of the Year for 1993 and the Bruno Kreisky Award for Human Rights in 1993. Kurspahic is also the author of several books including, As Long as Sarajevo Exists and Letters from the War.

On news of the award Fellowship Program Director Joseph Klaits observed: "Kemal's recent award is an excellent tribute to outstanding work that he has produced throughout his career as both a journalist and author. I am delighted to see his work recognized by his peers and feel that the Kemal's experience and insights is an invaluable addition to our work and research on the role of the media in conflict resolution and prevention at the Institute."

Kurspahic is current a senior fellow in the Institute Jennings Randolph Fellowship Program where he is conducting research on the application of media to conflict resolution.

Founded over 118 years ago, the Virginia Press Association is the one of the oldest and largest press state press association in the country. Nominated by their peers, nominations for the VPA awards are judged by a panel of distinguished media professionals and academics. Awards for 1999 were selected by members of the Florida State Press Association and Press Club.