Seattle Times, The: "MRSA: Culture of resistance"

Contributors: Michael J. Berens; Ken Armstrong;

Judges’ comments:

An extremely well-done package that showed the local implications of a national problem-supergerms-that very few people realize we have. By the third day of the series, the state of Washington announced that it would require all hospitals -for the first time - to report all patient cases linked to MRSA (or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The online presentation included a searchable database that allowed readers, researchers and others to look up individual hospitals and see how many patients each facility had treated for MRSA, year by year.

MRSAsabew.pdf (14.15 MB)  

[5131PR]

New York Times, The

Contributors: Larry Ingrassia, Business Editor;

Judges’ comments:

The scope and depth of the business coverage in The New York Times make it a model. Its coverage of the Sept. 13-14, 2008, weekend of financial tumult was outstanding. Few publications can devote the resources to business journalism that The Times does, but its reporters and editors made the very most of those resources in 2008.

[5464DN]

Charlotte Observer, The: "The Cruelest Cuts"

Contributors: Ames Alexander; Kerry Hall; Franco Ordonez; John Simmons; Peter St. Onge; Ted Mellnik; Reid Creager; Rogelio Aranda; Holly Farrant; Bill Pitzer; Dave Puckett; Dave Enna; Tony Lone Fight; Marion Paynter; Maria David; Jim Walser; Gary Schwab; Mitch Weiss; Glenn Burkins; Patrick Scott;

Judges’ comments:

An example of our highest calling: comforting the afflicted while afflicting the comfortable. The investigation illustrated problems rampant in the multi-billion-dollar poultry industry, showing how one company blocked injured workers from seeing doctors, and hauled others with broken bones or severed fingers back to work hours after surgery. The stories also demonstrated how federal oversight has deteriorated. Comprehensive and well written, it should make any of us think twice before eating chicken.

5267PR-CharlotteObserver.pdf (45.36 MB)   sabewprojectletter.doc (41 KB)  

[5267PR]

Fast Company: "China Storms Africa"

Contributors: Richard Behar;

Judges’ comments:

This groundbreaking package on China's push into Africa is an original and, frankly, scary series of stories about what China is really doing, and why we in the U.S. have cause to fear the possibility of Chinese hegemony. As author Richard Behar writes, "The region is now the scene of one of the most sweeping, bare-knuckled, and ingenious resource grabs the world has ever seen." One former U.S. assistant secretary of state describes the Chinese assault as a "tsunami". Must reading.

Fast Company June 2008 China Storms Africa.pdf (18.20 MB)  

[5130EN]

St. Petersburg Times

Contributors: Kathleen Flynn, Photographer; Kainaz Amaria; Kris Hundley;

Judges’ comments:

Our medicine at what costs? This online series concerning the shipping of drug trials overseas is an example of the downside of globalization, in human rather than financial terms. What's especially impressive is that it was done by a regional paper that was following up what started as a local story. It is an impressive example of investigative reporting on the web, with powerful and illuminating graphics.

Special Report: Testing Grounds   (Top center)

[IPR9]

Indianapolis Business Journal

Contributors: Tom Harton, Editor;

Judges’ comments:

This weekly newspaper offers an appealing layout and an excellent mix of coverage. A special report on a questionable residential developer was a hard-hitting investigative effort that many larger newspapers would have been proud to publish. Clear, well-written stories range beyond the business world to cover politics, sports, and the arts.

[5164WN]

Business Week

Contributors: Stephen J Adler, Editor-in-Chief;

Judges’ comments:

Navigation on this site is made exceedingly easy. The site stood out for the judges with its fast, smooth access to its video offerings. The "What's Your Story Idea?" and "Debate Room" features astutely tap the reader interactivity potential of the Web. The "Lifestyle" section of the site provides an inviting counterpoint to the basic business and finance coverage.

[5193ME]

Philadelphia Business Journal

Contributors: Bernie Dagenais, Editor;

Judges’ comments:

This package examining the impact of crime on the city economy covered was an extraordinary commitment for a business journal. It involved 21 paes, 22 stories, 24 photos and five graphics. The package applied business-news metrics to material that's usually treated as just a social problem. The result put a business spotlight (and a price tag) on a major societal problem affecting all Philadelphians.

[5343WN]

New York Times, The

Contributors: Louise Story, Reporter; Tara Siegel Bernard, Reporter; Jenny Anderson, Reporter; Mark Landler, Reporter; Matt Orr, Video Journalist; Brad Stone, Reporter; David Rummel, Senior Producer, Video; Jonathan Glater, Reporter; Emily Hager, Video Journalist; Rob Harris, Producer, Video; Todd Heisler, Producer, Video; Tom Jackson, Multimedia Producer; Amy O'Leary, Multimedia Producer; Amy Schoenfeld, Graphics Editor; Amanda Cox, Graphics Editor; Matthew Bloch, Graphics Editor;

Judges’ comments:

Before the market crash in fall 2008, the Times used the web to bring a serious and complex story to life: that the economy was resting on a mountain of consumer debt. By telling the story through the words and images of Diane McLeod (a perfect microcosm) in simple, personal human terms, we see how the advent of widely available easy credit can destroy a perfectly fine, hardworking person who isn't financially sophisticated.

The Debt Trap   (Interactive overview of the series, laying out its themes and linking to many of its elements)

The Debt Trap: Video   (Links to all the video can be found under the heading Multimedia)

The Debt Trap: Compare Your Debt   (A calculator that let readers enter their debt and compare with others)

The Debt Trap: Reader Comments   (Hundreds of comments on the first article, with reporter's responses)

[IPR17]

Bloomberg Markets

Contributors: Laura Colby, Managing Editor;

Judges’ comments:

Solid reporting and analysis can be found throughout the feature well in this magazine from the Small/Regional Category. The coverage has a global perspective, but gave readers probing stories on Lehman and Washington Mutual as the financial crisis closed in on those two U.S.-based institutions. The layout is low-key, but engaging, and lets the clear prose speak for itself.

[5038ME]