A podcast series on shocking abuse at Utahs homes for troubled teens produced by a multiple-media team of journalists, and the Minnesota Star Tribunes revelations of court-aided exploitation of accident victims, have taken top honors in the 16th Annual Barlett and Steele Awards for the Best in Investigative Business Journalism.
The inaugural award for Outstanding Young Journalist was claimed by Neil Bedi of ProPublica for an investigation into faulty mechanical heart pumps.
In addition to the first-ever Young Journalist award, this year marks the first time the Barlett and Steele Awards have recognized publications across two categories, Global/National and Regional/Local, to honor more of the outstanding business journalism being produced throughout the U.S. Each category features a Gold, Silver, and Bronze award. These awards come with cash prizes of US$3,000, US$2,000, and US$1,000 respectively. The Young Journalist award features a cash prize of US$3,000.
The Gold award in the Global/National category was won by a collaboration among American Public Media, Salt Lake Tribune, and KUER public radio, for their tenacious investigative work into the Utah governments lackluster oversight of facilities housing troubled teenagers, resulting in widespread abuse. Their work resulted in a seven-part podcast series titled Sent Away.
Rounding out the Global/National category, the Silver award went to The Wall Street Journal for its investigation into federal judges hidden conflicts of interest. The Bronze was awarded to a team of reporters from Bloomberg for their revelations about questionable practices at a telemedicine startup.
In the Regional/Local category, the StarTribune won the Gold award for documenting how accident victims in several states were convinced to transfer their court-ordered compensation to other parties for a fraction of its value. In one case, StarTribune said, a mentally impaired car accident victim sold more than half a million dollars in future payments for $12,001.
The Silver award in the Regional/Local category went to a duo from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a series on dangerous dwellings, while a team of reporters from The Palm Beach Post and ProPublica won the Bronze award for documenting harmful pollution by the sugar industry.
The Barlett & Steele Awards are administered by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State Universitys Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The awards are named for the illustrious investigative business journalist team of Don Barlett & Jim Steele, who have worked together for more than four decades, receiving two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Magazine awards, and a long list of other journalism awards.
This years winners are in the finest tradition of what these awards have come to represent great reporting, fine writing and expert data analysis, Steele said. The winners are a testament to the value of in-depth reporting and how it benefits the public.
Reynolds Center Director Dr. Jeffrey Timmermans said: This addition of more awards this year has allowed us to recognize more ground-breaking investigative business journalism in the U.S. While the industry continues to face many challenges, the fact that there is so much outstanding work being done at news organizations throughout the country from Utah to Florida is cause for optimism.
About the winners
Gold Global/National Category
In their seven-part podcast series Sent Away, reporters from American Public Media, Salt Lake Tribune, and KUER public radio teamed up to expose the limitations of government oversight within the troubled-teen treatment industry. In the last six years, 20,000 kids from all over the country have been sent to more than 100 privately run treatment programs in Utah. This investigation found that the state took a hands-off approach to regulating these facilities, which enabled rampant abuse.
During the investigation, reporters hit a wall: Utah asked for thousands of dollars in fees to turn over inspection and investigation reports. Journalists turned to crowd-funding to cover the cost. The state eventually turned over 10,000 pages of records that showed reports of alleged sexual abuse, exploitation, and other atrocities. Even the death of a resident didnt spur the government to step in or implement more rigid regulations, reporters found.
As a direct result of their reporting, the Utah government has taken a stronger approach to enforcing regulations, including revoking the license of one program named in the podcast. Additionally, the state is creating an online database to allow free public access to inspection reports the same documents the reporters had to pay for.
As noted by the judges, this is an extraordinary piece of investigative reporting that demonstrates the power of podcast journalism at its best.
Silver Global/National Category
The Wall Street Journal investigation Hidden Interests examines how more than 130 federal judges broke a 1974 law. The law requires federal judges to recuse or excuse themselves from a case involving parties in which they or their family members have legal or equitable interest. WSJ examined 700 judges who held stocks with large companies and tens of thousands of cases from 2010 to 2018 and found 129 federal district judges and two other federal plaintiff judges to be in violation of the law.
Their investigation found that oftentimes, the judges were ruling in favor of their financial and familial ties. Sixty-one of the total judges accused were found to be trading the stocks while they were on the affiliated case.
There arent any laws or rules that ban judges from owning stocks, they just must recuse the cases when they are presented with them. These violations are not often seen by the public and judges financial information is only available upon request.
This WSJ investigation dives into the specific cases judges accepted and how their intentions may or may not have been financially motivated.
Bronze Global/National Category
Questionable Practices brings the first important revelations about the largest medical mental-health startup, Cerebral, and its effort to bring telemedicine techniques to mental healthcare. With the demand for mental health services increasing, companies are finding ways to provide patients with quick solutions to their problems. Cerebral was one of the companies to start prescribing controlled substances online during relaxed rules that came out of the pandemic.
Bloomberg reporters found a lack of delicate consideration assessment from the million-dollar business when prescribing medication to their patients. Their piece dives into how Cerebral continued to use strong marketing techniques to bring in patients, despite the number of clients who have been negatively impacted by their practices.
Gold Regional/Local Category
Star Tribune reporters Jeff Meitrodt and Nicole Norfleet exposed the inhumane practices performed on car accident victims in their series Unsettled: Cashing in on Accident Victims. The investigation found that companies pay to take peoples future settlement checks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for immediate and much smaller payments.
The reporting duo searched through thousands of pages of court documents to examine deals implemented from 2000 to 2020. They found a trend in places such as Minnesota that show how much money victims receive versus what the agreement was and the types of victims that suffer from yet another catastrophe. This investigative piece highlights not only the insurance companies involvement but also the effects on mental health.
The Unsettled series is an exemplary work of reporting and does a superb job in shedding a light into the little-known settlements purchasing industry, said the judges. The findings are astonishing and the thoroughness of the reporting examining from the lens of all those involved from the victims, to the judges and the companies is impressive.
Silver Regional/Local Category
Dangerous Dwellings, a year-long Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation, examines the squalid living conditions in some of the citys worst apartments. The reporters found that the housing shortage and government inaction enabled absentee landlords to squeeze the properties for higher profits while putting tenants safety in peril.
Through a three-part series with character-driven stories, extensive data analysis, damning photos, and investigating more than 1,000 apartment complexes across five counties, the AJCs story found that much of the regions affordable housing is nearly uninhabitable. In many cases, landlords didnt provide the bare minimum: functional plumbing, security cameras, gates that properly lock and close. Not only are those properties barely habitable but the public is footing the bill for landlords tax breaks while their tenants perish.
Dangerous Dwellings underscores how these dangerous conditions are part and parcel of a lucrative business model, smartly juxtaposing the living conditions of tenants and owners, said the judges. Its spherical reporting that doesnt simply describe a problem but goes deeper into finding out whos to blame and why.
In response to the AJCs investigation, Georgia district attorneys announced they intended to start cracking down on negligent apartment complex landlords.
Bronze Regional/Local Category
The joint investigation between The Palm Beach Post and ProPublica follows Thelma Freedman and her two grandsons who were hospitalized in 2019 for upper respiratory infections. They live in the Glades, an area in Florida that is home to growing half of the countrys cane sugar. Each year, growers will burn their fields as a harvesting technique that covers the town in ash which the locals have named Black Snow.
State officials have found the sugar industry in violation of the Clean Air Act of 1970. But the investigation found that residents were exposed to pollutants in ways that monitoring systems had missed. Spending a year speaking with various community members, the reporters were able to see how the smoke was affecting them.
Additionally, the reporters used a unique investigative tool, automated text messages, to communicate with the community and gather information in real-time. They found that the community was staying indoors to avoid the harmful effects of the smoke and that it was only affecting communities of color and those in poverty.
This in-depth investigation is driven by human stories backed with actual data that shows how the sugar industry and state organizations have not properly addressed the pollution residents in lower-income areas of Florida are experiencing.
Outstanding Young Journalist
In his reporting, Neil Bedi of ProPublica went beyond identifying the harm caused by malfunctioning HeartWare devices. Through investigative analysis, Bedi identified the countless missteps taken by the FDA that showed that the government long knew of the problems that patients were never informed of.
This investigation revealed how easily companies can slip through major systemic gaps in the government systems that are intended to protect the most vulnerable. Bedi rigourously worked to connect with people who were harmed by the devices to continue telling their stories even after the initial story was published. Bedis reporting prompted Congress to investigate the FDAs regulation of the HeartWare device and pushed the manufacturer, Medtronic, to expand financial assistance to consumers.
Neil Bedis investigative analysis of the missteps in the FDAs work with HeartWare are nicely juxtaposed with real testimonials, said the judges. You can tell Bedi went to great lengths to research and report this story.
The Reynolds Center will spotlight the recipients of the top prizes at an event on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. Arizona time in the First Amendment Forum at the Cronkite School in Downtown Phoenix. Tune in to the Reynolds Center event page for updates on the live event.
Read this article:
Winners of the 16th Annual Barlett & Steele Awards announced - Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Senate Passes TikTok Ban Bill, Setting Up Legal Battle Between App and U.S. on First Amendment Issues - Variety - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- How the TikTok ban could survive a court challenge - Platformer - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Senate Passes TikTok Ban Bill, Setting Up Legal Battle Between App and U.S. on First Amendment Issues - AOL - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Mayor and Police Chief of Missouri City in First Amendment ... - Law.com - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Get the Facts: How far does the First Amendment go? - WMTW Portland - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Say 'Yes' to the First Amendment Minding The Campus - Minding The Campus - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Civics lesson: First Amendment rights are broad, but there are limits - Tennessean - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- SCOTUS won't review decision that ratchets up legal risk at protests - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- NPR Against the First Amendment - The New York Sun - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- NPR boss once called the First Amendment a 'challenge' and 'reverence for the truth' a distraction - Fox News - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Here are the winners of the inaugural Poynter Journalism Prizes - Poynter - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Can Congress actually ban TikTok? - Vox.com - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- New Stablecoin Bill Faces Criticism for Stifling Innovation and Breaching First Amendment Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin.com News - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Elon Musk's Plan To Fund National Signature Campaign In Support Of First Amendment Met With Praise - Yahoo! Voices - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Trump: First Amendment protects efforts to overturn election - USA TODAY - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- To Fight Ban Bill, TikTok's Best Hopes Lie in First Amendment Challenge - The Information - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Supreme Court must rely on the First Amendment, not its own precedent, when deciding government censorship case - Washington Examiner - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATION?: Man removed from Cape council meeting files lawsuit - FOX 4 News Fort Myers WFTX - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump team's First Amendment argument is 'so weak' in Georgia election interference case - MSNBC - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - The Associated Press - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- A national TikTok ban and the First Amendment - National Constitution Center - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump attorney says Georgia election case hinges on First Amendment Deseret News - Deseret News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Courts Should Affirm First Amendment Rights of Youths in the Digital Age: The Case for a 21stCentury Tinker - Cato Institute - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump legal news brief: Prosecutors tell Judge McAfee that First Amendment doesn't apply to Trump's 'criminal intentions' - Yahoo! Voices - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump attorney tries to have Georgia case dismissed on First Amendment grounds - MSNBC - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump attorney, prosecutors spar over move to have Georgia case dismissed on First Amendment grounds - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Georgia court motions hearing today live stream - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - Bowling Green Daily News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- First Amendment protects Trump from Fani Williss election interference charges, attorney argues - Washington Examiner - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judicial Rulemaking and Lucidity: Justice Barrett's First Amendment Opinion in Lindke v. Freed - American Enterprise Institute - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- First Amendment protects Trump from Fani Willis's election interference charges, attorney argues - Colorado Springs Gazette - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting election interference charges - Southernminn.com - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - messenger-inquirer - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Lawyers for the State argue against Trump First Amendment challenge in Georgia case - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- OPINION: The possible TikTok ban is an infringement on our First Amendment rights - The Suffolk Journal - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - Times Daily - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- An iPhone, YouTube & the First Amendment: Man in St Louis tests boundaries of constitution through videos - First Alert 4 - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Lawyer argues Georgia election RICO case against Trump be dismissed over First Amendment - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Abridging, Not Coercing, Is The First Amendment's Yardstick for Speech Violations - Reason - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judge hears Trump's First Amendment challenge to Georgia charges: Watch live - Yahoo Singapore News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's attorney says election inference case should be thrown out over 1st Amendment protections - Yahoo! Voices - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judge hears Trump's First Amendment challenge to Georgia charges: Watch live - AOL - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judge sets new hearing date in 2020 Georgia election interference case - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Biden Wants To Avoid a First Amendment Showdown Over WikiLeaks - Reason - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raises eyebrows with comment that First Amendment 'hamstrings' government - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- West Texas drag show becomes a First Amendment battleground - The Texas Tribune - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - The Associated Press - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and Substantial Encouragement - Reason - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- News/Media Alliance Joins Brief Defending First Amendment Editorial Rights of Documentarians - News/Media Alliance - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The State of the First Amendment: Free Speech - University of Colorado Boulder - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justices Seem Likely to Side With N.R.A. in First Amendment Dispute - The New York Times - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh loses patience with the judiciarys far right - Vox.com - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justice Jackson ripped for worrying about the First Amendment 'hamstringing' government: 'Literally the point' - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Analysis: SCOTUS Oral Arguments Bode Well For NRA First Amendment Claim [Member Exclusive] - The Reload - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear First Amendment challenge to New York's financial 'blacklisting' of NRA - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- NRA Goes To The Supreme Court Today In First Amendment CaseHere's What To Know - Forbes - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear case of former Castle Hills councilwoman who claims First Amendment rights were violated - KSAT San Antonio - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear arguments in key First Amendment case challenging Biden admin teamwork with Big Tech - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- "Black Lives Mat[t]er" + "Any Life" Drawing "Not Protected by the First Amendment" in First Grade - Reason - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - KXLY Spokane - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court hears free speech case that united the NRA and the ACLU - The Washington Post - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court Wary of States' Bid to Limit Federal Contact With Social Media Companies - The New York Times - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Opinion: A First Amendment Fizzle at the U.S. Supreme Court - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The First Amendment is under attack in Americas Oceania - Washington Examiner - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Education Institutions Grapple With Overlap of First Amendment and Anti-Discrimination Laws - JD Supra - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - The Caledonian-Record - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Note to Justice Jackson: First Amendment Should Hamstring Biden - Daily Signal - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - KEYT - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The First Amendment Supreme Court case right wingers are crazy for - The Independent - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Ketanji Brown Jackson concerned First Amendment is hamstringing government from censorship - Washington Examiner - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justice Jackson: First Amendment "Hamstringing" Federal Response To "Threatening Circumstances, From The ... - RealClearPolitics - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Opinion: Sen. Chuck Grassley should stand up for the First Amendment and support the PRESS Act - The Gazette - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- The Supreme Court must protect the First Amendment in Murthy v. Missouri - Washington Examiner - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- A Hillsborough judge invokes the First Amendment in a case related to a 2022 election campaign - WMNF - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- John Stockton's lawyer claims first amendment violation as basis for COVID-19 lawsuit - KXLY Spokane - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Scientology Scores A First Amendment Win Over Leah Remini, But Harassment Claims Against Church Still Stand, Judge Rules - Deadline - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear First Amendment cases, weigh in on Texas immigration law - MSN - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- 7 Expert Takeaways As the Supreme Court Considers Government Influence on Content Moderation - Just Security - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Conflict between First Amendment and discrimination on Broadway | Strictly Legal - The Cincinnati Enquirer - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]