McClatchy Washington Bureau

It would be difficult to fathom life in Baghdad were it not for the Inside Iraq blog. From the terror of being stopped at a checkpoint to the joy of a phone call from a college friend who’d not been heard from in three years and thought to be dead, the writers give powerful glimpses into the psyche of Iraq and its people. The Iraqi writers, who remain anonymous to protect them, have been widely lauded already, so we can only add to the honors by thanking them for their courage and openness

McClatchy Washington Bureau

The nominating letter sets the stage for this award: "In November 2007, when the National Intelligence Council suddenly released a new … estimate that concluded Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons program four years earlier, the world and most reporters were stunned. The readers of McClatchy newspapers weren't." That's because reporters in the McClatchy Washington Bureau had long applied tough-minded journalism to test administration claims to the contrary. As they had in the run-up to war in Iraq, bureau staffers looked well beneath the surface of claims about Iranian intentions and tapped extensive sources in intelligence and diplomatic agencies to illuminate dissenting views and challenge the public proclamations. Warren Strobel, Jonathan Landay and their colleagues provide an indispensable check on the posturing and spin that have defined recent forays into international affairs, and the country should be thankful for them.

Idaho Statesman

When the political landscape has been turned upside down by a blockbuster scandal, you’d want your state’s largest newspaper to react with careful reporting, solid judgment and surefooted instincts. And when U.S. Sen. Larry Craig’s men’s room arrest and guilty plea rocked Idaho, the Idaho Statesman and reporter/columnist Dan Popkey were superbly ready. The paper showed admirable restrain in handling early, anonymous accusations, and admirable initiative in reporting vigorously to learn the truth. When Craig’s plea brought the story into the open, the paper emerged as the authoritative source for document, on-the-record facts and brought great credit to themselves, the company and the profession.

Anchorage Daily News

Staffers at the Anchorage Daily News brought more than 20 years experience to their coverage of the burgeoning political scandal that continues to sweep their state. Some of the reporters handling stories about rampant corruption involving the Veco oilfield service company have been writing about those issues since the 1980s. Now, with extensive FBI wiretaps and surveillance tapes and criminal prosecutions at their disposal, they are able to tell the story in shocking detail. The paper responded accordingly, providing not only authoritative print reporting, but live blog postings from corruption trials, video galleries showing executives passing rolls of currency to legislators, and interactive online guides that extended even to other media coverage. Importantly, the paper also fought in court to make sure the voluminous FBI surveillance material was made public and available online, often on the same day it was first shown in court.

Sun Herald

Robin Fitzgerald's tough reporting on brutality against inmates in the local jail prompted a federal investigation and the prosecution of former jailers. The Sun Herald sued to make public records and documents about the scandal, including a surveillance tape displayed on the Sun Herald website that showed jailers beating inmate Jessie Lee Williams Jr. to death.

The Charlotte Observer

Tackling an anniversary as significant as 50 years after integration can pose challenges, but The Charlotte Observer found a highly engaging way to get into the story through a single photo of Dorothy Counts walking to Harding High on the morning of Sept. 4, 1957. Columnist Tommy Tomlinson tracked down the now-grown Counts and four of the boys in the angry crowd that surrounded her in that photo. Their accounts of that momentous day and what has transpired in the 50 years since are illuminating and moving. Historical photos and the stories of the people in them also brought to life days two and three of this well-packaged series. Online, additional photos and video complemented the stories and made for an equally compelling package.

The Sacramento Bee

Fifteen years later, Sacramento Bee reporter Jocelyn Wiener tracked down the survivors of a champion youth football team from a rough part of the city. In a series of interlocking profiles she told a heartbreaking story about the terrible risks and temptations that African American boys face growing up. Combined with extensive web presentations, the effort turned stories that might well have faded from view into a compelling and challenging public portrait.

The Island Packet

An athletic scholarship to a major college can be a ticket to a new life for some high school athletes, which is why the work of Island Packet sports editor Jeff Kidd is so valuable. Kidd wondered why so few of the top athletes from local high schools were being signed by Division I-A teams, and his search for answers found that too often the athletes and their parents, coaches and guidance counselors were unfamiliar with NCAA eligibility requirements, and athletes simply weren’t meeting those requirements. His series went beyond the anecdotal to include a survey that provided insights into the problem. He brought a public-service perspective to the package with information on how to avoid the pitfalls. The stories and supporting material proved helpful not only to local readers but to a wider internet audience because numerous links to it attracted additional readers.

The Miami Herald

The Herald exposed the outrageous misuse of millions of dollars of public funds intended create jobs in destitute neighborhoods. As the newspaper showed, the insiders who controlled the Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust often used the program as a personal checkbook, spending on pet projects, parties, travel, even the chartering of a private jet to ferry celebrities to MTV’s Music Awards program in Miami.