President's Awards 2020

When a Hero Came HomeRiley Howell/UNC-Charlotte shooting - The Raleigh News & ObserverAndrew Carter, Reporter and Jessica Koscielniak, Video Journalist

“A poignant multi-layered profile of a family's grief at the loss of a loved one who died attempting to stop an all-to-common incident of mass shooting. ‘When a Hero Comes Home’ goes beyond the moment, beyond the ephemeral media spotlight, beyond the simple idealization of a hero to present the pride and pain of a family accepting that Riley Howell did what he would expect of others and thus what he himself would have to do.”

Richard Gingras, Vice President, News, Google

The Raleigh News & Observer

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Throwaway KidsThe grave failures of the foster care system - The Kansas City StarLaura Bauer, Judy L. Thomas and Eric Adler, Reporters
Shelly Yang and Reshma Kirpalani, Video Journalists
Neil Nakahodo, Motion Graphics

“A year-long investigation that examined and exposed what, exactly, happens to children across the country after they age out of the foster care system. Taking community engagement to the next level, the Star reached out to nearly 6,000 inmates in 12 different states to compile a powerful image of the systemic pipeline that shuttles children from foster care into prison. This series is a must-read for every American.”

Laura Zornosa, Journalism/International Studies Major, Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism

The Kansas City Star

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Perversion of JusticeA Miami Herald investigation and mini-documentary - Miami HeraldEmily Michot and Brittany Peterson, Video Journalists
Julie Brown, Jessica Koscienlniak, Producers
Sohail Al-Jamea, Motion Graphics

“This video documentary gives a platform to the voices of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the multi-millionaire and serial pedophile first investigated by the Herald last year. While that series also won a President’s Award in 2019, this year’s subsequent mini-doc focuses on the women who had been shut out of the court process – a masterpiece of empathetic reporting and investigative prowess.”

Laura Zornosa, Journalism/International Studies Major, Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism

Miami Herald

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Destined to BurnThe Sacramento Bee"Ryan Sabalow, Phillip Reese, Dale Kasler, Sr. Writers
Alyssa Hodenfield, Visuals and Nathaniel Levine, Visuals Editor

“A constructive look at the California paradox of living in an idyllic slice of heaven that will inevitably become a searing spot of hell. Destined to Burn is both a pragmatic examination of how California might prepare for its environmental challenges and an enigmatic look at our apparent acceptance of probable destruction.”

Richard Gingras, Vice President, News, Google

The Sacramento Bee

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Special treatmentThe Wichita EagleChance Swaim, Jonathan Shorman, Reporters
Dion Lefler, Sr. Journalist and Jaime Green, Visuals Editor

“This is as simple, elegant and hard-hitting as it gets. A reporter substituting on a beat finds governmental corruption. Classic, hard-hitting, hard-nosed, old-fashioned investigative reporting finds the mayor gave hundreds of millions of dollars in business to his friends.”

Dean Baquet, Executive Editor, The New York Times

The Wichita Eagle

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CagedThe Lexington Herald-LeaderJohn Cheves, Reporter and Patrick Gleason, Motion Graphics

“This was a beautifully-written, crystal-clear story that let the outrages and the victims speak for themselves. It had deep historical perspective and was open about its mission – to provoke reform of a system that has been in crisis for years. This is classic big, ambitious public service journalism.”

Dean Baquet, Executive Editor, The New York Times

Lexington Herald-Leader

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Air quality on the Nipomo MesaThe San Luis Obispo TribuneMonica Vaughan, Lead Reporter
Cassandra Garibay, Reporter
David Middlecamp, Photographer
Stephanie Finucane, Associate Editor Opinion Page
Ashley Ladin, Reporter (Intern)

“This is quintessential high impact journalism that brings to life a serious, silent hazard, one that a community has lived with–indeed even enjoyed using–for decades, without understanding the deadly effects on their air quality. From the crowdsourcing of community example and data analysis, to the compelling storytelling and ‘news you can use,’ and, ultimately, to its concrete positive impact, this is what powerful local journalism is all about.”

Raju Narisetti, Global Publishing Director Elect, McKinsey & Company

The SLO Tribune (RN)

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StrickenWhy are so many Iraq, Afghanistan war veterans getting cancer? - McClatchy DC BureauTara Copp, Ben Wieder, Shirsho Dasgupta, Reporters
Reshma Kirpalani, Video Journalist
Meta Viers, Producer

“This package demonstrates what happens when a team of journalists work tirelessly to build a data-driven investigation and multi-media content package. The investigation intricately threaded detailed, heart wrenching stories of veterans battling cancer with deeply-reported data. It’s no surprise that after Stricken published, dozens of emails from veterans and their families poured in asking that McClatchy keep digging.”

Cynthia DuBose, Senior Editor, Audience Growth + Loyalty

McClatchy DC Bureau

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DismissedThe Charlotte ObserverAmes Alexander, Gavin Off, David Raynor, Reporters
John Simmons, Photographer
Patrick Gleason, Motion Graphics

“Dismissed stands out for the thoroughness of its data-informed journalism that doesn’t stop at the more common ‘guns don’t kill people, people do’ storytelling. It provides a very compelling, well-told story on what enables serial, gun-related crimes to occur in a community, and the continued culpability of a legal system that is failing Mecklenburg’s residents.”

Raju Narisetti, Global Publishing Director Elect, McKinsey & Company

The Charlotte Observer

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DefenselessThe Kansas City StarDave Helling, Opinion Writer
Katie Moore, Reporter

“A seething look at Missouri’s underfunded and understaffed public defender system. This series spotlights lives changed forever as a result of a long-ignored problem. Defenseless is a prime example of shoe-leather reporting at its best. For six months, a reporter and opinion columnist traveled across the state interviewing public defenders, prosecutors, judges and defendants in more than two dozen counties. The series ran in seven parts: five news stories, bookended by a column and an editorial calling for the state to fund and fix the public defender’s office. Perhaps the most powerful part of this series, the reaction it ignited throughout the state – lawmakers promised urgency in solving the problem and readers lauded the series via a full-page ‘thank you’ advertisement in The Star.”

Cynthia DuBose, Senior Editor, Audience Growth + Loyalty, McClatchy

The Kansas City Star

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