It’s journalism awards season again, and Investigative Fund stories have once again garnered some prestigious honors. Here’s a quick round-up:
Malcolm Garcia’s reporting on the US military’s use of toxic burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the dire consequences for soldiers and civilians (published in Oxford American andGuernica) has earned him the Society of Professional Journalist’s Sigma Delta Chi Award as well as a Studs Terkel Award for excellence in coverage of the working class. One judge for the Studs Terkel award called Garcia’s investigation “meticulously researched, intelligently constructed and superbly written. He makes me proud to be a journalist.” He’s also been named a finalist for the Molly National Journalism Prize, created to honor the late Molly Ivins.
Investigative Fund reporter Kathy Dobie is also among the Molly finalists for her Harper’spiece, “Tiny Little Laws,” which uncovered a plague of sexual violence on the nation’s Indian reservations, and the failure of law enforcement to investigate these crimes. Dobie’s story was also a finalist for the prestigious National Magazine Award, the Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, and the Michael Kelly Award, which honors a writer whose work exemplifies “the fearless pursuit and expression of truth.”
Garcia’s earlier Investigative Fund piece on violence in Northern Ireland, “Know Ye Who the Bosses Are Here” also received an honor: Originally published in McSweeney’s, it was just selected for publication in the anthology The Best American Travel Writing. And in other book-related news, Investigative Fund reporter Jason Berry’s Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church, sections of which came out of his Investigative Fund articles, received an Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. Judges said that Berry’s reporting “makes extensive use of public documents, leaked parish records, trial transcripts, interviews and a wide range of published reporting to paint a complete picture of a heretofore secret network of church financial dealings.”
Just last week, we got word that Ali Winston’s investigation, “Deadly Secrets: How California Law Shields Oakland Police Violence,” is a finalist for the National Association for Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence Award. Produced in partnership with Colorlines.com, “Deadly Secrets” shines a light on police violence in Oakland, examining a little-discussed California Supreme Court ruling that has made it nearly impossible for the public to track down potential problem officers.
And finally, Joshua Frank’s Seattle Weekly investigation, “Hanford’s Nuclear Option,” tookfirst place in environmental and science reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists Northwest. Frank’s story delved into corruption and mismanagement at the world’s most expensive nuclear cleanup site.
If you haven’t already, give these newly awarded stories a read.