Center for Public Integrity wins six regional Murrow awards

Introduction

Six different Center for Public Integrity investigative projects have garnered regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

The prizes, announced Wednesday, honor outstanding achievements in electronic journalism. The Center’s winners, some of them published in partnership with other news outlets, covered a wide range of topics, including immigration, workplace safety, climate change, pipeline regulation, education reform and the Trump Administration.

The awards are given to radio, television and digital outlets based in 14 separate geographical regions, and the winners automatically qualify for national Murrow awards, which will be presented in June.

“We’re grateful to be honored in so many categories,” said Center for Public Integrity CEO John Dunbar. “The recognition shows how our investigative reporting ranges well beyond the Beltway.”

Four separate Center projects won in the Small Digital News Organization category in Region 12, which covers Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Best Continuing Coverage went to the Center’s environmental team for “Carbon Wars,” a project illuminating the energy industry’s efforts to maintain its lucrative franchises in the wake of climate change.

Excellence in Social Media went to “#CitizenSleuth,” a joint effort by the Center and REVEAL from the Center for Investigative Reporting. That project created a searchable, sortable and public database of hundreds of Trump administration financial disclosures that turned into multiple stories, with help from numerous reader tips.

Excellence in Video was awarded to “Raised Hands: California’s Search for Education Equity,” which told the story of inner-city schools struggling to take advantage of a new state funding formula to improve student achievement.

The Feature Reporting prize was given to “Death in the Trench,” which revealed gaps in safety enforcement while illuminating the tragic death of one construction worker in Nebraska.

Two additional Center investigations were recognized in other regions through reporting partners.

In Region 1, which includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, Boise State Public Radio was awarded the Investigative Reporting prize for Small Market Radio for “How Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Threatens the Dairy Boom In Idaho,” a reporting collaboration with the Center.

In Region 11, which encompasses New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the award for Small Market Radio Investigative Reporting went to WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for “Gas Rush,” an investigation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission done in partnership with the Center.