Barlett & Steele Awards Honor Investigative Journalism That Sparked Change
The ninth annual Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism have been announced. These prestigious awards celebrate outstanding journalism that exposes wrongdoings and prompts change. This year's winners include The Associated Press, The Palm Beach Post, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, with each investigation leading to significant impacts.
The Associated Press took home the gold award for 'Fish Slavery', a series that uncovered labour abuses in the Thai fishing industry. The expose led to the freeing of over 800 slaves and sparked investigations by various governments. The silver award went to the Minneapolis Star Tribune for 'Unchecked Care'. This investigation into home-care aides prompted state regulators to accelerate background checks and intensify monitoring.
The Palm Beach Post won the bronze award for 'Dying for Care'. Their investigation into Florida's prison healthcare system resulted in fines, contract cancellations, and the posting of data by the Florida Department of Corrections. Additionally, journalists Natasha Geiling and Jeremy C.F. Lin from Columbia Journalism Review received a bronze award for exposing how a top wine critic was manipulated by the wine industry through undisclosed financial ties.
The awards, named after Pulitzer Prize winners Don Barlett and Jim Steele, will be conferred on November 16 at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU in Phoenix. Each award comes with a cash prize, with the gold award being $5,000, the silver $2,000, and the bronze $1,000. The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University announced the awards.
