Mark Bell (journalist)

Mark Eric Bell is an award-winning American journalist^[1] currently living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he is employed as a crime and courts reporter at The Daily News Journal.^[2] He also contributes to The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee as a reporter for Gannett Tennessee.

Biography

Bell was born to Lester Mark and Lisa Bell on Oct. 22, 1985 at Morristown-Hamblen Hospital in Morristown, TN. He grew up in Talbott, TN and attended Morristown-Hamblen West High School, where he graduated in 2004.^[3] He earned a degree in journalism at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. in May 2008.

Malcolm Law Investigative Reporting Award

Bell was awarded in 2009 with the Malcolm Law Investigative Reporting Award by the Associated Press.^[4] He was honored for his reporting of a July 17, 2008 incident in which an 11-year-old Hopkinsville, Ky., girl was struck and killed on Bradyville Pike, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee by a police cruiser driven by a now-former sheriff's detective.

Bell reported eyewitness accounts that the detective dumped bottles of alcohol from his cruiser after the crash and that investigators initially ignored those accounts and failed to collect the bottles at the scene.^[5] The chief of the Murfreesboro Police Department later admitted that investigators erred in not collecting the bottles, at least one of which was later linked to the sheriff's detective by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Two members of the Murfreesboro Fatal Accident Crash Team, including its commander, were forced to resign from the team and were placed on suspension by Murfreesboro Police Department's police chief and the city manager.^[6]

Other awards and honorable mentions

In addition to winning the Malcolm Law Investigative Reporting Award from the Tennessee Associated Press, Bell was also part of a team that won a First Amendment Citation during the National Associated Press awards held in New York, NY on Aug. 3, 2009.^[7]

Bell and The Daily News Journal were also awarded first place for investigative reporting by The Tennessee Press Association at their 2009 awards ceremony.^[8]

Bell was awarded 2nd place at a national level competition by Suburban Newspapers of America for ongoing investigative coverage.^[9]

References

1. ^ Tennessee Associated Press TAPME results. (2009, May 13). Retrieved May 13, 2009
2. ^ The Daily News Journal Web site. (2009, May). Retrieved May 11, 2009
3. ^ Morristown Citizen Tribune. "Bell wins investigative journalism award" (2009, May 13). Reported by Bobbie Young, Tribune Staff Writer.
4. ^ Tennessee Associated Press TAPME results. (2009, May 9). Retrieved May 10, 2009
5. ^ Mark Bell. "Deputy hits, kills girl." The Daily News Journal Murfreesboro, TN. 19 July 2008.
6. ^ Mark Bell. "MPD: Alcohol bottle belonged to deputy." The Daily News Journal Murfreesboro. TN 6 Aug. 2008
7. ^ [1] The Associated Press: APME announces awards for outstanding journalism
8. ^ [2] DNJ captures four first-place honors (2009, June 20).
9. ^ Suburban Newspapers of America Editorial Contest Results. (2009, May 21).

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Name	Bell, Mark
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Date of birth	1985
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