IRE History | Recent Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Steve Doig, Contest Committee chairman, 480-965-0798, steve.doig@asu.edu

* Complete listings of winning news organizations and journalists, as well as finalists.
* Videostreamed excerpts from television category winners.

IRE offices:
Len Bruzzese, Deputy Director, 573-882-2042, len@ire.org
Brant Houston, Executive Director, 573-882-2042 brant@ire.org

March 19, 2003

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Reporters and editors from The Boston Globe took top honors in the 2002 IRE Awards for their investigation into the Catholic Church, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. announced today.

The team won a prestigious IRE medal for an extensive examination into decades of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and the cover-up of their crimes by church leadership. The Boston Globe team included reporters Matt Carroll, Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes, Stephen Kurkjian, Michael Paulson, Kevin Cullen, Tom Farragher and editor Walter V. Robinson.

The annual awards of IRE - a 5,000-member professional organization - recognize outstanding investigative work in print, broadcast, online media and for work furthering freedom of information.

IRE judges recognized a wide range of work that included probes into faulty military aircraft, pollution, government corruption, significant defects in crime lab testing, gunrunning and intelligence failures preceeding the 9-11 terrorist attacks. This year, the judges also gave special citations for international work.

The IRE Awards program strives to avoid conflicts of interest. Work that includes any significant role by a member of the IRE Board of Directors or an IRE contest judge may not be entered in the contest. This often represents a significant sacrifice on the part of the individual -- and sometimes an entire newsroom. Among the organizations affected this year are The Seattle Times, the Wisconsin State Journal and WEWS-Cleveland.

The Globe stories exposed a national scandal that continues to reverberate, the award judges said.

"These stories brilliantly documented a powerful institution's inability to police itself, with tragic consequences for its many young victims and ultimately for the church itself," the judges said.

The Tom Renner Award - for outstanding crime reporting - went to Frank Main, Carlos Sadovi and Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times, for following the money from a $1 billion-a-year drug trade into beauty shops, apartments, record companies and even Hollywood movies.

"The investigation showed how savvy street gangs were beginning to wield political influence, reaching into neighborhoods to get out the vote," the judges said. "This series stood out because of its investigative depth and sharp writing."

The Renner Award comes with an IRE medal and a $500 prize.

Other winners include those receiving IRE certificates: the Los Angeles Times, The Fresno Bee, The Winston-Salem Journal, The Village Voice, ABC News 20/20, KHOU-Houston, WTVF-Nashville, Newsweek, Center for Investigative Reporting, The Center for Public Integrity, and the Chicago Sun-Times. A student award went to The Harvard Crimson.

The Freedom of Information Award went to Seth Rosenfeld of the San Francisco Chronicle for his 17-year fight to obtain FBI records documenting the bureau's illegal and covert activities at the University of California. The contest judges said his work illustrated the importance of the Freedom of Information Act.

"His persistence through numerous court cases resulted in a story that revealed the federal government's unconstitutional assault on "liberal" students, faculty and a university president," the judges said.

"It forged new legal ground, expanding the nature of the information that must be released under the FOIA and the government's responsibility for paying legal fees. Perhaps most significantly, Rosenfeld's work is contributing to the nation's post-Sept. 11 debate over balancing civil liberties and national security."

An IRE Certificate was awarded to David Sloan, Carla DeLandri, Brian Ross, Brenda Breslauer, Yoruba Richen and Tom Marcyes of ABC News 20/20 for showing how evidence that could catch violent criminals -- police rape kits -- sit unprocessed across the country due to lack of money. In an unusual and somewhat bold collaboration, 20/20 offered to pay half the expenses to process 50 rape kits at the Baltimore Police Department. "20/20's investigative project led directly to catching and convicting two rapists and freeing another man who was imprisoned for a rape he did not commit," the judges said.

Other certificate winners:

Alan C. Miller and Kevin Sack of the Los Angeles Times, for "The Vertical Vision," a grim tale of how the Marine Corps remains committed to a fighter plane that is killing its own in record numbers.
Mark Grossi; Barbara Anderson; Russell Clemings of The Fresno Bee, for "Last Gasp," a compelling and comprehensive look at an agriculture hub that has become home to some of the nation's dirtiest air.
Kevin Begos; Danielle Deaver; John Railey and Scott Sexton of The Winston-Salem Journal, for "Against their Will," which meticulously documented the forced sterilization of more than 7,000 residents -- many of them poor and black -- over a 50-year period.
Tom Robbins of The Village Voice, for "Lush Life of Rudy Appointee," which proved the virtual, nonstop spending spree of tax dollars by an aide of former New York Mayor Giuliani on items for himself and his friends.
David Raziq, Anna Werner and Chris Henao of KHOU-Houston, for "Evidence of Errors," an investigation detailing Houston Police Department Crime Lab problems one expert characterized as "repeated gross incompetence" that may be sending innocent people to prison.
Phil Williams and Bryan Staples of WTVF-Nashville, for "Friends in High Places," an investigation that exposed how millions of dollars worth of state contracts were handed to friends of Tennessee's governor
Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman, Evan Thomas, Mark Hosenball of Newsweek, for its series on 9-11 intelligence failures.
A team at the Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco, for "Gunrunners," a well-reported and deeply-sourced expose of the secret activities of international gun smugglers.
Diane Renzulli, John Dunbar, Alex Knott, Robert Moore and Leah Rush of The Center for Public Integrity, for "Capitol Offenders: How Private Interests Govern Our States," a book demonstrating that vested interests are influencing legislators' decisions on education, health care, insurance, public safety and the environment.
Amit R. Paley of The Harvard Crimson, for "The Secret Court of 1920," which showed that a 1920 university investigation into a student's suicide ended with the university convening a secret court that labeled 14 men "guilty" of being or knowing homosexuals. Some were forced to leave the university and the city of Cambridge, Mass.
A special citation was awarded to Nancy Phillips of The Philadelphia Inquirer for a continued investigation into the 1994 murder of a rabbi's wife. Eventually, one of Fred Neulander's associates made a confession to her that finally led authorities back to Neulander -- more than five years after the crime. In November 2002, a jury convicted Neulander of arranging his wife's death and sentenced him to life in prison.

"This is an outstanding example of a reporter of great courage who persevered long after most would have given up," the judges said.

A special citation for an international entry was awarded to Mark Hunter, Nour Richard-Guerroudj, Salim Jaouani, Fabien Laborde, Lucie Monier-Reyes and Aurore Gorius. Hunter led Universite' de Paris students as they broke the story (in Le Figaro) of how a law designed to make officials more honest served only to enrich them at public expense, in virtual secrecy.

The IRE Awards will be presented during a June 7 luncheon at the IRE Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference, scheduled for June 5-8 at the JW Marriott and the National Press Club, will feature many of the winners speaking about the techniques they used to develop their stories.

IRE, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting investigative journalists. It is based at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Contest entries are screened and judged by other working journalists.

Copies of all contest entries are available from the IRE Resource Center (www.ire.org/resourcecenter). The center can be reached via e-mail at rescenter@ire.org or by calling 573-882-3364.

* Complete listings of winning news organizations and journalists, as well as finalists.
* Videostreamed excerpts from television category winners.