“Journalism education is vital,” said Wentworth. “Without information, without truth, without facts, the ability for students to see what is real is challenged, and it is a challenge they have to be ready for. What I’m getting my kids ready to engage in every day is inquiry.”

Wentworth regularly holds ethics seminars to help young reporters navigate controversial issues. Otherwise, he runs the production-based course like a newsroom. He initiated a monthly press conference with the principal so that his reporters could get interviews from him on a regular basis.

For Wentworth, journalism is a family business of sorts. He was raised in Washington, D.C., by an extended family of Washington Post reporters, editors, and researchers.  In high school, he and his friends self-published a student newspaper called “The Independent” with high profile support from some leading names in the media. Before he became a teacher, he wrote for the San Francisco Bay Guardian and worked in documentary filmmaking for CBS News, National Geographic, A&E Discovery and more.  He has been teaching in the New York City public school system for seven years, including six years at Brooklyn Tech. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Claudia, a musician, three children and a loyal rescue dog named Ziggy.

The award is named in honor of journalism educator, author, wordsmith and long-time friend and board member of the Deadline Club, Robert Greenman, who died in 2018. Greenman’s importance in journalism education cannot be overstated. He wrote “The Adviser’s Companion,” the seminal guide for high school journalism teachers and played a key role in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. He inspired thousands of student journalists through his engaging, insightful and witty workshops. 

Wentworth is the 17th recipient of this annual recognition, which Greenman launched more than 15 years ago. See the full list of honorees here.