SourceMedia’s Rob Blackwell Selected as 2017 Timothy White Award Winner

<div class="cms-textAlign-center"><i>Washington bureau chief for American Banker receives prestigious award for exemplary leadership</i></div>

NEW YORK, NY (March 13 , 2017 ) – Rob Blackwell, Washington bureau chief for American Banker and SourceMedia’s Group Editorial Director for Regulatory Policy, is this year’s recipient of the Timothy White Award for exemplary editorial leadership. The Timothy White Award, established in 2002, recognizes business editors whose work continuously displays courage, integrity and passion. The award is bestowed by Connectiv: The Business Information Association, as part of its prestigious Jesse H. Neal Awards program.

American Banker’s regulatory coverage, which unpacks the complexities of banking policy and politics, is a keystone of the brand’s industry-leading information service for bankers. As banking has grappled with some of the most consequential shifts and crises in its history, Blackwell and his team of editors and reporters have steered a critical path - uniquely informing and challenging the industry, and holding it to account.

In 2016, Blackwell played an essential leadership role in American Banker’s coverage of one of the biggest financial-services stories of the year - the Wells Fargo fake-accounts scandal. Blackwell also spearheaded SourceMedia’s enterprise-wide election coverage, ensuring all SourceMedia communities had timely, consistent and valuable analysis heading into, throughout, and after the unexpected results of last year’s presidential election.

Blackwell and team have also given scrutiny to banking regulatory agencies, including a series of hard-hitting reports in 2015 on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In 2001, he was part of the team that won a Neal Award for coverage of the FDIC's controversial efforts to reform deposit insurance. In 2005, he was promoted to Bureau Chief.

“Rob Blackwell’s dedication to smart and fair reporting, and his determination and resolve in the face of government and corporate obstruction, would make Tim White proud,” said Marc Hochstein, Editor in Chief of American Banker. “As American Banker’s Washington bureau chief, Rob speaks truth to power among regulatory agencies and banking lobbyists.”

Blackwell, who has covered financial regulation for SourceMedia for nearly two decades, will receive the Timothy White award at the 63rd Annual Neal Awards luncheon on March 31 in New York. SourceMedia has been named a finalist in 11 categories in this year’s Neal Awards, including Best Website and Best Media Brand.

About American Banker
American Banker, a SourceMedia brand, is the essential resource for senior executives in banking and financial services, keeping its users updated on vital developments and focusing sharply on their most important concerns. Financial industry professionals turn to American Banker to stay maximally informed and engage with an authoritative community of analysts, practitioners and innovators through opinion content, research reports, social media, and live events. American Banker Magazine is a monthly print publication of American Banker, focusing on the ideas, the people, and the companies that are changing the way bankers do business.

About SourceMedia
SourceMedia, an Observer Capital company, is a business-to-business digital marketing services, subscription Information, and event company serving senior-level professionals in the financial, technology and healthcare sectors. Brands include American Banker, PaymentsSource, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, Accounting Today, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Mortgage News, Employee Benefit News and Health Data Management.