Center’s ‘State Integrity Investigation’ selected as a finalist for the Goldsmith prize

Introduction

The Center for Public Integrity’s groundbreaking State Integrity Investigation has been named a finalist for the prestigious Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. The award, given by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, recognizes journalism that “promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics by disclosing excessive secrecy, impropriety and mismanagement, or instances of particularly commendable government performance.”

The State Integrity Investigation, a collaboration of the Center, Global Integrity and Public Radio International, was a data-driven analysis of transparency and accountability in all 50 states, which resulted in a ranking of all 50, accompanied by both an overall letter grade and a numerical score. Accompanying stories, one for each state, told the stories behind the numbers, providing detail, context and analysis. The award judges said the project was a “wonderful blueprint for reporters all over the country to do the enterprising stories on government” that the Goldsmith Prizes seek to encourage.

The other finalists are entries from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, and two separate entries from the New York Times. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Kennedy School on March 5.