Introduction
The Center for Public Integrity was honored today with two 2016 EPPY awards from Editor & Publisher, and three other finalist designations, continuing a run of success for the Center in the prestigious journalism competition.
The awards, now in their 21st year, honor the best media-affiliated websites across 31 diverse categories.
The winning investigations, and categories were these:
- The Center’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists won Best Collaborative Investigative/Enterprise Reporting on a Website with over 1 million unique monthly visitors for its landmark project, The Panama Papers.
- Best use of Data/Infographics on a Website with under 1 million unique monthly visitors was won by the Center for a variety of data visualizations on subjects as disparate as broadband access and homicide rates.
The Panama Papers project, coordinated by ICIJ and German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in collaboration with more than 100 media organizations around the world, was the largest investigation in journalism history. Based on a trove of 11.5 million leaked documents from inside Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, the investigation revealed how the shadowy offshore economy works in detail never seen before, exposing the hidden financial dealings of politicians, criminals and the rich and powerful.
The Data/Infographics award honors several complex data visualizations, specifically: “Where broadband access is unequal,” “Here are the interests lobbying in every statehouse,” “How does your state rank for integrity?” and “A reality check on crime.”
“Spellbinding and explanatory data journalism is at the heart of what the Center does and this is great recognition,” said CPI chief executive officer Peter Bale of the awards.
In addition, a trio of projects garnered finalist honors in the EPPYs, including The Panama Papers, which was cited for Best Investigative/Enterprise Feature on a Website with over 1 million unique monthly visitors.
Also a finalist: “Buying of the President 2016” for Best News/Political Blog with under 1 million unique monthly visitors. The “Buying of the President” project has included deep-dive investigations about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, as well as other presidential aspirants like Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson. Stories have highlighted the special interests bankrolling these White House hopefuls — as well as entrepreneurs profiting off of their popularity.
The third Center finalist, for Best Investigative/Enterprise Feature on a Website with under 1 million unique monthly visitors, was “Rape, murder, famine —and $2.1 million for K Street PR.” That story detailed how the government of South Sudan turned to Washington, D.C. public relations and lobbying firms to bolster its image amid widespread conflict, poverty and human rights abuses.
The new honors continue a winning streak for the Center for Public Integrity in the EPPY competition; the Center received four EPPY awards in 2014 and another four in 2015.
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