Kennedy Prize Won by Times Photographer

Times photographer Clarence Williams’ images of children living with neglectful parents who abuse drugs or alcohol were honored Wednesday with a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, a prize recognizing outstanding coverage of issues facing society’s disadvantaged.

Williams’ photographs accompanied The Times’ two-part series “Orphans of Addiction.”

“Williams brought nationwide attention to the plight of young children living in substance-abusing families,” the judges wrote. “These photographs are both shocking and tender testimony to the extraordinary access he achieved by convincing the subjects that they had a rare opportunity to provide society with an immensely personal look at the destructive force of drug and alcohol abuse.”

Times reporter Robin Wright won an honorable mention in the international category for a collection of stories, including the four-part series “Democracy Imperiled,” on the challenges to democracy worldwide, and for her articles about innovative solutions to global problems such as poverty, injustice and street children.

Reporters from the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger won a first place award for a series of articles about a community’s fight for medical funding for AIDS patients.

A New York Times reporter, who chronicled three years with a young man suffering from numerous diseases but still struggling for a normal life, won a first place award.

Another New York Times reporter won a first place award in the international category for his story about how the majority of people in the Third World live without safe drinking water.

First place winners will receive a bust of Robert F. Kennedy and a $1,000 prize.