TSP’s Media Awards may have taken the summer off, but journalists and social scientists assuredly did not! We are excited to announce the winner of the June 2012 TSP Media Award for Measured Social Science:

“The Rise of Genocide Memorials,” Clare Spencer, BBC News

In her write-up of Spencer’s piece, TSP’s Hollie Nyseth Brehm showed how Spencer called on the expertise of psychologist Sheila Keegan along with her own research to help explain the phenomenon of genocide tourism—an act that is not without controversy, and Spencer does not shy away from discussing it.

As we’ve said before, the choice of each month’s TSP Media Award is neither scientific nor exhaustive, but we work hard to winnow our favorite nominees. And, while we don’t have the deep pocketbooks to offer enormous trophies or cash prizes, we hope our informal award offers cheer and encouragement for journalists and social scientists to keep up the important (if not always rewarding) work of bringing academic knowledge to the broader public.