The American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) is an organization of Jewish newspapers, magazines, journalists, and affiliated organizations in North America. Founded in 1944 by Gabriel Cohen as the Anglo-Jewish Publishers Association, AJPA awards the Rockower Awards, considered the "Jewish Pulitzers."
History The American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) was founded on May 2, 1944, as the Anglo-Jewish Publishers Association. During its 2-day organizational meeting in Indianapolis, initiated by Gabriel Cohen of the Indianapolis Jewish Post, the AJPA also adopted resolutions condemning the White Paper of 1939 ban on Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine, the mistreatment of Jews in the Polish armed forces, and pledging its support to the American war effort. Before the AJPA, previous attempts to join Jewish journalists as a group had failed. The group's original membership included only English-language Jewish weekly newspapers.
In 1980, AJPA's membership included 75 English-language publications in the United States and Canada. As of 2024, AJPA had 120 member organizations.
Rockower Awards
AJPA established the Simon Rockower Memorial Writing Competition for member publications in 1980. The competition was funded by a grant from Rockower Brothers, Inc., in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Simon Rockower. Norman Lamm of Yeshiva University was the competition's original president, with David Mirsky of Yeshiva University as the inaugural chair. The competition began in 1981 with six categories, including news writing, editorial writing, feature writing, cultural and arts writing, special series, page one make-up, and graphics.
The awards, considered the "Jewish Pulitzers," are presented at a banquet in November each year.
List of categories The first competition had six categories, growing to 22 by 2017. In 2024, there were 32 award categories, with three additional wild card categories for reporting on the Gaza war.
Until 2020 the entries for most categories were divided by circulation. Since 2021 the divisions are Weekly and Biweekly Newspapers, Monthly Newspapers and Magazines and Web-based Outlets. CategoryDescriptionDivision ADivision BDivision C1The Louis Rapoport Award for Excellence in CommentaryWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services2Award for Excellence in Single CommentaryWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services3Award for Excellence in Personal EssayWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services4Award for Excellence in Editorial WritingAll5The Boris Smolar Award for Excellence in Enterprise or Investigative ReportingWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services6Award for Excellence in News ReportingWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services7Award for Excellence in Writing about Social Justice and Humanitarian WorkWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services8Award for Excellence in Feature WritingWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services9Award for Excellence in Arts News and Features – Reporting (movie, theater, television, books, music, etc.)Weekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services10Award for Excellence in Arts – Review/Criticism (movie, theater, television, books, music, etc.)Weekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services11Award for Excellence in Personality ProfilesWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services12Award for Excellence in Special Sections or SupplementsAll13Award for Excellence in Writing about Health CareWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services14Award for Journalistic Excellence in Covering Zionism, Aliyah and IsraelWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services15Award for Excellence in Writing about WomenWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services16Award of Excellence in Writing about Jewish Heritage and Jewish Peoplehood in EuropeWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services17Award for Journalistic Excellence in North American Jewish HistoryWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services18Award for Excellence in PhotographyAll19Award for Excellence in Interfaith Relations ReportingAll20Award for Excellence in Writing about Food and WineWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services21Award for Excellence in Writing about SportsWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services22Award for Excellence in Writing about SeniorsWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services23Award for Excellence in Business Reporting – Trends All24Award for Excellence in News ObituariesWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services25Award for Excellence in Writing about Politics/GovernmentWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services26Award for Excellence in Education ReportingWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services27Award for Excellence in Writing about AntisemitismWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services28Award for Excellence in Writing about Jewish Thought and LifeWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services29Award for Excellence in Writing about Young Families/PeopleWeekly and Biweekly NewspapersMonthly Newspapers and MagazinesWeb-based Outlets; Digital Only, Website Only and Wire Services30Award for Excellence in PodcastingAll31Award for Excellence in General NewslettersAll32Award for Outstanding Accomplishments - Best FreelancerAll
References
External links American Jewish Press Association official site