FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008
Contact:
- Mark Horvit, IRE Executive Director, 573-882-2042 or mhorvit@ire.org
- Marilyn Thompson, The Washington Post, IRE Contest Committee Chair, 202-334-7410 or thompsonm@washpost.com 202-334-7410
- James Grimaldi, The Washington Post, IRE Board President, 202-334-6000 or grimaldij@washpost.com
IRE Announces 2007 Award Winners
COLUMBIA, MO. — Investigative reports examining the mistreatment of veterans by their own government, hidden dangers in trade with China — for both U.S. consumers and Chinese workers — and a 43-year-old murder case are among the top winners in the 2007 IRE Awards.
Also receiving special recognition is the ongoing effort by a group of journalists to continue the investigation started by a slain colleague, Chauncey Bailey.
The awards, given by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year. The contest covers 15 categories across media platforms and a range of market sizes. IRE is a 4,300-member professional and educational organization based at the Missouri School of Journalism. The contest, which began in 1979, received 530 entries this year.
IRE Medals, the top honor bestowed by the organization, were given to:
— Dana Priest and Anne Hull of The Washington Post for "The Other Walter Reed." Co-winners of the "largest circulation newspaper" category, Priest and Hull penetrated the secretive world of the Army's premier medical facility, Walter Reed Hospital, to document in chilling detail the callous mistreatment and neglect of America's war-wounded. Their expose — fueled by immersion reporting and fine narrative storytelling — fired a shot heard around the world and led to decisive action at the Pentagon. This brilliant work proved how a local investigation can demand an international audience and provoke international outrage.
— Walt Bogdanich, Jake Hooker, Brent McDonald, Robert Harris and Andy Lehren of The New York Times for "Toxic Pipeline." The project, co-winner of the "largest circulation newspaper" category, started with a hunch about obscure poisonings in Panama. But through extraordinary effort and skill, reporters traced the deaths from a cough syrup back to China. In the process, they exposed a frightening new reality about globalization: You can no longer trust that simple household items won't be deadly. When the FDA learned of the Times' story, it halted imports of Chinese glycerin. And more than 30 countries recalled Chinese made toothpaste containing anti-freeze. The project showed reporters tackling the highest level of difficulty to tell an astounding international story.
— Loretta Tofani, The Salt Lake Tribune for "American Imports, Chinese Deaths." This ambitious project, winner of the "medium circulation newspaper" category, shows that the mundane creature comforts of American lives have debilitating and sometimes deadly consequences for the people of China who make them. The project takes readers to plants where young workers touch and inhale carcinogens without gloves, masks or proper ventilation. Freelance reporter Tofani exposes the abuse of Chinese workers while American industry conveniently fails to discover bogus safety audits and fake record keeping. (The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and The Center for Investigative Reporting supported the project.)
— David Ridgen, Michael Hannan, Brad Clarke, Judith Greenberg and Scott Hooker of MSNBC and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for "Mississippi Cold Case." This compelling documentary, winner of the "network/syndicated" category, was aired by MSNBC and produced by Ridgen of the CBC, produced dramatic results. By literally digging up the past, following every lead and hounding key witnesses and participants, the project showcased how original investigative reporting can solve cases. And by stirring up the interest of federal prosecutors, the piece led to the prosecution of a key perpetrator of a long-forgotten murder of two African American men in 1964.
The recipients of the Renner award, honoring outstanding reporting covering organized crime or other criminal acts, were:
— A.C. Thompson, Thomas Peele, Josh Richman, Angela Hill, Mary Fricker, G.W. Schulz, Cecily Burt, Bob Butler, Paul T. Rosynsky and Harry Harris for "The Chauncey Bailey Project." These stories would have been difficult to pursue under any circumstances, but it took extreme dedication to get at the truth following the assassination of Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey. In the tradition of the Arizona Project, this coalition of Bay area journalists delved into questionable real estate deals and contracts involving the owners of Your Muslim Bakery in Oakland. The reporters raised questions about the thoroughness of a police investigation into the group before Bailey's murder. They probed the interrogation and confession of Bailey's alleged killer. And they carried on the work that Bailey intended to pursue before his death. (IRE is providing data analysis and computer services for the project). www.chaunceybaileyproject.org
The Freedom of Information award, honoring an individual or organization whose actions further open records or open government, was awarded to:
— Jim Parsons, Bob Longo, Kendall Cross and Mike Lazorko of WTAE-Pittsburgh for "Pennsylvania Open Records." WTAE-TV and Parsons pushed open the front door of a closed government agency, PHEAA, Pennsylvania's state-run student loan agency, revealing glaring examples of wasteful and abusive spending of taxpayer money. Documents revealed that bureaucrats spent thousands of dollars on items and services such as tuxedo rentals, alcohol, flowers, NFL tickets and aromatherapy massages. Parsons also organized forums on Pennsylvania's Open Records Act and worked to obtain legislative support for a new state Right to Know Law.
IRE Board president James Grimaldi said the large number of medal winners speaks to the quality of work produced last year.
"IRE has never awarded this many medals in one year, and it is a testament to the amount of groundbreaking investigative journalism accomplished last year during extraordinarily difficult economic times for the media industry," said Grimaldi, an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. "Investigative journalism is alive and thriving and making a difference in our world."
The other IRE awards, called certificates, are divided into categories based on market or circulation size.
The 2007 IRE Certificate winners were:
Large newspapers (250,000-500,000) - Jennifer Barrios, Sophia Chang, Michael Ebert, Reid J. Epstein, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Eden Laikin, Herbert Lowe, Joseph Mallia, Jennifer Maloney, Luis Perez and Karla Schuster of Newsday for "They Failed to Act." Through tenacious, shoe-leather reporting, the staff of Newsday documented a public safety danger long ignored by the Long Island Railroad and by state and federal regulators. Armed with Stanley tape measures, they found dangerous gaps between the platform and trains at the railroadÕs busiest stations, holes large enough for passengers to fall through. Their reporting - accompanied by compelling visuals - brought a public outcry and led to long-overdue reforms.
Small newspapers (under 100,000) - Sandy Hodson of The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle for "The Wait of Conviction." This investigation uncovered the fact that many of the people convicted of serious crimes in Richmond County, Georgia were not able to appeal their cases. By obtaining and reviewing hundreds of cases from a 10-year period, the reporter not only discovered a miscarriage of justice, but also affected change: the local judges responded with a promise to solve this serious problem. The piece was unique in that it focused on the administration of the justice system, not just the results of that system.
Local Circulation Weeklies - Isaiah Thompson of Village Voice Media/Miami New Times for "The People Under the Bridge." This unusual story turns all those warnings against sexual predators on its head. The laws on where sex offenders can live in Miami are so strict that - with no place else to go - authorities force offenders to live under a bridge. Reporter Isaiah Thompson got to know these people - some of whom had families willing to take them in but couldn't. He does a masterful job showing the absurdity of their situation.
Top 20 Markets - Brett Shipp, Mark Smith, Kraig Kirchem, Michael Valentine and Mark Ginther of WFAA-Dallas for "The Buried and the Dead." For a year, WFAA-TV dug into a story of deteriorating gas pipeline couplings, not a topic you'd expect to produce compelling video. But what they found was horrifying: an obsolete pipeline system; gas leaks galore; explosions that had already cost six lives and threatened tens of thousands more. The coverage was so powerful that it forced an entrenched bureaucracy to order the system replaced, costing the utility tens of millions of dollars and likely saving lives.
Below Top 20 Markets - Demetria Kalodimos and David Sussman of WSMV-Nashville for "Radioactive Dumping." This original investigation revealed that the state of Tennessee had, for 20 years, been allowing the dumping of low-level radioactive waste in ordinary landfills located around the state. They followed the story from the local level all the way to the national, including tracing the origin of much of the radioactive material. The pieces led to dramatic results, state government action and a moratorium on the dumping.
Magazine/Specialty Publication - Joshua Kors of The Nation for "Thanks for Nothing." Some stories simply make your blood boil. This examination of Army soldiers who were denied benefits for being discharged under phony personality disorder diagnoses poignantly illustrates the impact this military policy had on soldiers' lives and the difficulty Army officials had explaining the sharp rise in personality disorder cases. The magazine's reporting showed that soldiers were not only denied benefits but also asked to repay their signing bonuses under an obscure discharge regulation. Many left the Army with several thousand dollars of debt.
Book - Bob Drogin for "Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War." In a strong field, Bob Drogin's "Curveball" stands out. The sourcing is clear and the writing compelling. The result is a detailed picture of the lies and mistakes that contributed to the Iraq War. Many of the key facts were first revealed in Drogin's Los Angeles Times stories. Now he has added context and history.
Radio - Lorna Benson and Michael Edgerly of Minnesota Public Radio News for "Toxic Traces Revisted." In 2005, MPR's reporting forced the state to lower the levels of perflourinated chemicals (PFCs) considered safe for humans after the chemical was found in Twin Cities drinking water. In 2007, contaminants were found in the drinking water of another community. Once again, MPR delivered this complex story to the public. The result of their digging was an indictment of a system that, without scrutiny and pressure, continued to fail in its duties.
Online - Nathaniel Heller, Ben Welsh, Marina Walker Guevara, Tom Stites, Sarah Fort, Patrick Kiger, Michael Bilton, Prangtip Daorueng, Ignacio Gomez, Andreas Harsono, Alain Lallemand, Yossi Melman, Mutegi Njau, Paul Radu, Gerardo Reyes and Leo Sisti of The Center for Public Integrity and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for "Collateral Damage: Human Rights and U.S. Military Aid after 9/11." A comprehensive and compelling examination of US military aid and assistance to foreign countries in a post-9/11 world. The work of journalists on four continents to track the origins of lobbying efforts and amounts of money involved was impressive by itself. And it was coupled with the power of an online database, readers were able to view unfiltered data broken into many categories.
Student (All Media) - Allison Riggio and Hunter Clauss of creatingcommunityconnections.org for "Public Payroll, Family Affairs: Aldermen Keep It Relative." After its genesis as a class project at Columbia College in Chicago, this story grew into an interesting expose of nepotism in city government. Student reporters used public records requests and numerous phone calls to identify relatives of city council members on the public payroll. Persistence and aggressiveness overcame the obstacle of not being taken seriously by some sources.
"Each of these projects highlights the crucial impact that the best investigative reporting can have," said IRE Executive Director Mark Horvit. "Lives were changed, injustices were eliminated and dangerous threats to public safety were removed as a result of this work."
Contest entries are screened and judged by IRE members who are working journalists. The IRE Awards program is unique among journalism contests in the extent of its efforts 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 represents a significant sacrifice on the part of the individual - and often an entire newsroom - who may have done outstanding investigative work. For example, some work from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Miami Herald, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The New York Times, the Houston Chronicle, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and WMAQ-TV was ineligible for entry in this year's contest.
IRE, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting journalists who pursue investigative stories and operates the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism.
The IRE Awards will be presented at a luncheon on Saturday, June 7, at the 2008 IRE Conference in Miami.
Copies of all contest entries are available to IRE members from the IRE Resource Center, which has more than 23,000 investigative stories submitted over the past 28 years. The Resource Center can be reached via e-mail at rescntr@ire.org or by calling 573-882-3364.
See full list of winners, finalists and judges' comments at www.ire.org/contest/07winners.
