Banking/Finance
Large division
Winner – Overworked: How Wall Street Pushes Young Bankers to the Edge
The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of young bankers and the long hours they work exposed a disturbing pattern: Big banks pressured employees to keep up with workloads at the expense of their health and despite the banks’ own rules meant to prevent overworking. Starting with the case of a 35-year-old investment banker at Bank of America who unexpectedly died in May, WSJ spoke with dozens of sources to connect their experiences, resulting in key changes as the banks began limiting the number of hours employees worked and encouraged them to report when they were being pressured to work longer hours. Impactful reporting from Saeedy that forced banks to respond to an issue that’s routinely ignored.
Honorable Mention – Wall Street banks’ capital fight
Reuters’ coverage of the attempt made by Wall Street banks to water down the “Basel III Endgame rules” — a little-known effort by American banking regulators to make the banking system safer by adopting new internationally agreed-upon capital hikes — provided an inside look at regulatory discussions that the public seldom sees and the influence wielded by the big banks to get their way. Reuters covered the story from when the regulators first started to bend in March and broke news throughout the year, ending with the head of regulation for the Federal Reserve confirming the reporting as he was starting to make his own exit from the central bank. It is an easily overlooked story that, due to comprehensive reporting, made a sizable impact.
Medium division
Winner – Star Tribune Banking
The tribal lending story was surprising, shocking, nuanced, well researched, well explained and solidly sourced via court filings, interested parties and outside experts. The piece came out in January 2024, almost seven months before ProPublica followed with a series of three stories on the same topic. Hughlett’s fintech article was solid, exhibiting a clear understanding of why banks are better places to store your savings vs fintech apps. His breaking news story on the acquisition of Bremer Bank was detailed and informative, with a snappy lede that highlighted the background controversy.
Small division
Winner – Risky Online Payments
The Information’s reporting on how fast-growing fintechs like Stripe and Temu have left themselves wide open to money launderers drew on outstanding sourcing, careful use of records and clear explanation.
Honorable Mention – A Golden Age for Green Investment?
The Booth Review’s research and reporting deserves recognition for astonishingly clear writing of very complex formulas and concepts, posing the question of whether one of the bedrocks of business decision-making is inherently flawed.
Best Range of Work
Large division
Winner – Ben Cohen
Ben Cohen’s work for the Wall Street Journal is a compelling and engaging range of work that took readers into every nook of this economy with original in depth sourcing to foster those details. These columns came packed with insight and initiative from Ben. They include fascinating portraits of life in this economy from the perspective of folks engaged in all manner of change…and the headwinds that those pursuits create.
From writing about super-sweet berries to a woman maintaining a complex piece of technology manufacturing equipment, Cohen makes each of these stories alluring, fascinating and entertaining. It’s the kind of writing that makes it fun to learn. These are the stories that stick with you long after reading.
Honorable Mention – Natasha Singer
Natasha Singer’s work for the New York Times on youth and technology includes a timely and immersive portfolio that allows readers (and listeners) to understand the reality of social media use and the dangers hiding in plain sight. The stories served the public in multiple ways, including providing an opportunity for direct engagement.
From diving into the policies at some of the country’s most influential companies to zooming into high school hallways, Singer somehow managed to make this topic seem diverse and all-encompassing, making you feel like there are so many stories to cover, which I’m sure she did. On top of that, the stories are deeply reported with nuance, context, and originality. Parents of teenagers can’t help but be shaken by Singer’s reporting and how technology is shaping the life of young people and schools.
Medium division
Winner – Mike Hughlett
Great reporting uncovers unpleasant truths. Hughlett’s beat is business accountability and he tackles that head on with pieces on worker deaths at 3M, a financial scandal at the local Chamber of Commerce and how a ruling by the ATF affected a St. Cloud arms manufacturer, among other stories. The writing is clear, crisp and to the point, and the depth of reporting offers real answers.
Small Division
Winner – Matthew Herper’s coverage of health and medicine
Matthew has a knack for making readers smarter about one of the most impenetrable features of our modern economy — the business of healthcare and medicine. Across a range of engaging, well-written stories, his work imbues complex topics with essential context. In a highly competitive category, his consistent excellence stood out.
Honorable Mention – David Bank
David carries his strong voice across multiple platforms, from essays and newsletters to podcast/video interviewing and documentary producing. His work and his influence as an editorial team leader reward readers with definitive insights on impact investing.
Honorable Mention – James Drew
James is a disciplined writer and creative reporter who tackles topics from real estate to taxes to economic development with clarity and verve. His story angles feel fresh and go beyond pointing out problems to get sources talking about possible solutions.
Breaking News
Large division
Winner – The CEO Killing That Shocked the World
These stories stand out because Bloomberg was the only media outlet watching the CEO event and was the first to send headlines and the story of the company’s response. Being first on such a big, unprecedented story that had an impact beyond the business world makes these stories stand out. Bloomberg had a number of firsts here regarding this event: the headlines, the company’s response, why the CEO had gone to the event so early and the fact that the company didn’t have security outside the hotel. The ability to write these stories quickly, accurately and with context gave Bloomberg readers insights other outlets couldn’t or at least couldn’t write as quickly.
Honorable Mention – Inside the Alaska Airlines Blowout: ‘Is It OK if I Hold Your Hand?’
This package of stories did a great job of not only breaking news but quickly following up and giving context and putting readers where it occurred. The fact that a reporter realized something was wrong by seeing a photo on social media may not be revolutionary right now, but it was also nearly midnight and could have been easily not seen.
Medium and small division
Winner – Key Bridge collapse
The Baltimore Business Journal did a brilliant job covering the disastrous collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore after the bridge was hit by a massive container ship in late March. Staffers speedily covered an impressively wide variety of angles, including forward-looking coverage of the impact of the event and how long it may take to rebuild the bridge. All in all, the team produced deeply reported, highly informative and clearly written stories under deadline pressure.
Honorable Mention – United Healthcare CEO murder
This package provided impressive coverage of the fatal shooting in December of health-insurance executive Brian Thompson, a Minnesota resident, with local color on his family and the community. The team of journalists skillfully wove information from press briefings, interviews, and prior reporting to give readers valuable updates and insights, as well as the immediate impact of the murder.
Commentary/Opinion
Large division
Winner – Scammed
Michelle Singletary’s series has it all: great writing, distinctive, original work, hard-to-get, sensitive sourcing, and a “wow” story that puts the reader deep inside a sophisticated financial scam operation. She is among a small group of personal finance writers who do the work to take their mission beyond rote recaps of mortgage rate stories and auto rental deals. The multimedia and graphical elements further humanize the story, vividly demonstrating how scam victims are manipulated through various channels.
Honorable Mention – Elon Musk’s Embrace of Politics
The author’s smart analysis about the parallels between Musk and Trump was on track from the start and well before Elon Musk became a public supporter of Trump’s campaign. Higgins is an elegant writer who knows his subjects, spots trends ahead of his competition and helps interpret important developments as they happen.
Medium division
Winner – Daniel Howes columns on MSU management, federal auto policy and GM’s reinvention
In a field of many great entries, Daniel Howes’ columns stood out for style and punch. He does an excellent job of calling out baloney from Michigan State University trustees, Donald Trump, and Detroit’s auto executives. Each column leaves the reader with a clear view of how Michiganders were wronged — and what it will take to fix it.
Honorable Mention – Chesto Means Business
Jon Chesto’s column on how hard it is to find a cheap lunch under $10 in Boston these days is a masterful example of how to write a great piece on inflation. It was entertaining and enlightening and left the judges thinking about it all day. His deeply reported columns are engaging reads that make local business news interesting and relevant for a wide audience.
Small division
Winner – Crain’s Chicago Business editorials
These are standout editorials on all fronts. Each one delivers a strong point of view, carefully grounded in a detailed understanding of the facts. The writing is lucid and persuasive, particularly on the Art Institute piece.
Honorable Mention – Truth-teller on the biotech industry
This is a truly strong first-person piece, combining a very poignant patient’s story with lucid science writing.
Data Journalism
Large division
Winner – Medicare Inc.: How Giant Insurers Make Billions Off Seniors
How Giant Insurers Make Billions Off Seniors is a stunning investigative series by The Wall Street Journal into the sly practices of some health insurance companies selling Medicare Advantage plans, the private sector’s alternative to Original Medicare for people 65 and older. After spending a year amassing over 10 billion records of services received by Medicare beneficiaries, writing more than 40,000 lines of code to analyze the data and interviewing hundreds of physicians, nurses and patients, the Journal reporters uncovered $50 billion in Medicare payments for diagnoses that doctors and hospitals hadn’t treated. The series also showed that UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurer, diagnosed medical conditions that led to $7.2 billion in additional Medicare Advantage payments. At a time when Medicare is facing a coming shortfall and the Trump administration is looking to reduce government waste, fraud and abuse, this series — which has already led to Congressional hearings — is especially timely and important.
Honorable Mention – Housing Insurance Insecurity
This story was published in May, but hit home later in the year when massive wildfires hit California. The Times did an exceptional job of highlighting a little-noticed trend that could now mushroom into a widespread issue as disasters continue to pummel homeowners throughout the nation. As if it wasn’t difficult enough to afford a house, now homeowners face the prospect of seeing insurance rates skyrocket — provided they can get any coverage at all. And the California disaster is bound to make things worse. The package was chock full of interesting and useful data for readers, including an interactive table showing where things stand on homeowners’ coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Medium division
Winner – Dubai Unlocked
The judges felt that the scope and complexity of this entry elevated it above its competitors in this category, which had several strong contenders. This project featured in-depth investigative reporting, story-telling graphics, and coverage of a topic that hasn’t been fully documented before. Apart from highlighting Dubai’s relaxed regulatory environment, these stories also tie in the real estate business, crypto currency, and how U.S. federal funding contributed to Dubai’s expansion.
Honorable Mention – Oil companies leak toxic gas across Texas — making local residents sick
The judges found this to be a good example of public service journalism, on a topic that resonates beyond the Texas oil industry. The package contained strong visuals, including an interactive graphic that allows readers to search specific addresses for hydrogen sulfide levels. The journalists also did a good job with finding a variety of sources who added detail and context to the topic.
Small division
Winner – Maddy Simpson’s Data Package
Maddy Simpson’s coverage exemplifies data journalism at its best: telling powerful stories that couldn’t be told nearly the same way without crunching numbers and displaying them clearly and compellingly. Her investigation of BJC Healthcare’s pricing showed how expensive the system already was, just as it was pursuing a $10 billion merger and promising “affordable care.” Simpson’s work also revealed a 10 percent decrease in school-aged children in the St. Louis area, connecting this trend to school funding problems and future workforce concerns. Lastly, her comparison of St. Louis’ proposed $1 billion light rail project against similar initiatives across the country showed it would place among the lowest in ridership yet among the highest per-rider costs. In each case, Simpson’s thoughtful data reporting and clear presentation turned statistics into important public service journalism—work we’re proud to honor.
Honorable Mention – Hard to explain but easy to see: Data visualizations on groceries, stocks, and Teslas
Sherwood News demonstrated that even small outlets can do industry-leading data visualization work. Across three pieces—J. Edward Moreno’s interactive grocery chain maps, Matt Phillips and David Crowther’s look at declining numbers of publicly traded companies, and Rani Molla’s satellite-informed investigation of Tesla facilities—Sherwood told meaningful stories in a visually stunning fashion.
Economics
Large division
Winner – The Migrant Pipeline
The New York Times’ shocking investigation of the illegal worker pipeline and who is getting rich from it — and whose riches are at risk, especially under the Trump administration’s migration crackdown. The stories were deeply reported and the work was evident in the worker narratives threaded through all three. The package did a great job of pushing beyond the made-for-TV statements about the workforce and left us with a very clear understanding of the risks for workers and the companies that employ them.
Honorable Mention – America’s child care crisis is holding back moms without college degrees
Beyond tackling a crucial economic issue in a fresh way, we particularly loved the innovation and ingenuity this team of medium and smaller-sized news outlets showed in putting this project together. The series has all the hallmarks of solid reporting and storytelling – great data analysis, compelling personal stories, critical thinking – but this project went a step further; making their data set available to local newsrooms across the country, along with a reporting guide and webinar on how to localize the data and the narrative for their own markets. This, along with advance coordination so these outlets would have time to produce their own community-focused stories, not only allowed for amplification of the topic, but allowed newsrooms who may not be able to produce such data analysis independently a chance to tell the story in their own communities, in a way that was relevant to their audience.
The series also achieved something remarkable: direct impact, compelling one state to pass a childcare bill to assist working families. At a time when local news is under attack, this project is one model for building out better local coverage by working together. While the work of these small and medium outlets could have easily been overshadowed by the other stellar entries in this category produced by larger newsrooms, the effort and inventiveness of this collaboration shone through.
Medium division
Winner – Chinese exports rattle the world
Nikkei Asia dominated this category with remarkably solid reporting and analysis of one of the toughest beats on the planet: Mainland China. In particular, Nikkei Asia’s package of stories helped illuminate important and timely issues such as trade frictions with Southeast Asian nations. The stories were backed by impressive reporting and clear writing. Excellent package.
Honorable Mention – The Confidence Question
The Guardian highlighted an important theme that emerged during the 2024 U.S. elections: More than half of Americans in a poll thought the nation had fallen into a recession — even though government reports showed continued economic growth. A majority blamed the Biden administration. Fine storytelling and eye-catching art.
Small division
Winner – Politically Charged
In the ”Politically Charged” series, Dan Gearino and Marianne Lavelle tackle far-flung aspects of the EV revolution and how and why the U.S. risks being left behind economically. By visiting a car dealer in Michigan, documenting the pushback from the oil industry, and reporting out the progress of Chinese manufacturers, Gearino and Lavelle expertly document the importance of EVs to the American economy and why their adoption is not (or should not be) a political issue.
Energy/Sustainability/Climate Change
Large division
Winner – Buying Time
This series did what the best climate coverage does these days: It balanced the gravity of the climate crisis with a measure of hope. The judges were impressed with how easily the reporters broke down complex scientific concepts and processes with ease and style to illustrate almost sci-fi climate interventions that, in less adept hands, would have gone over readers’ heads. The reporters used compelling narrative journalism, transporting readers to far-flung corners of the globe where these radical inventions are being tested. Accompanied with gorgeous imagery, this deeply reported series introduced us to burgeoning technologies we’d never encountered below, while also spurring a crucial debate about their use, regulation and unintended consequences. The judges were left feeling inspired.
Honorable Mention – The Climate Cost of AI
AI’s impact on the climate crisis has been covered by many news outlets, but Bloomberg Green’s coverage stood out for the way it demonstrated the scope of the crisis. The breadth and depth of the reporting in this series is impressive. Using an array of data, the reporters produced a compelling digital package that created an easy-to-grasp picture of how the surge in electricity demand from data centers is outstripping the available power supply in many parts of the world. The articles provided an accountability framework that called out major tech players for shifting the goalposts on their sustainability promises, reminding readers that tech giants often will put their climate goals aside in pursuit of the next big thing, while the public, and our planet, will inevitably feel the repercussions.
Medium division
Winner – In Broad Daylight
This series of articles uncovered rampant exploitation of customers by solar companies through strong investigative work, analysis of over 1,000 consumer complaints with the state attorney general’s office and dogged reporting. Powerful details included footage from solar-panel sales training sessions in which trainees were urged to target old people by ”looking for Buicks, Oldsmobiles and garden gnomes.” Its impact resulted in legislative action and new regulations protecting residential solar consumers.
Honorable Mention – Power Play: Why Utility Executives Push Gas-Fired Power In Rural Arizona, Where Solar Would Thrive
The Arizona Republic spent more than a year poring over email records and nonprofit tax forms, combined with deep reporting and interviewing to expose improper political influence by nonprofit utility executives behind a ban on solar in one of the sunniest spots in the nation. Through deep reporting with experts she contextualized the information and provided readers with a clear, compelling narrative spotlighting the battle between energy companies and ratepayers.
Small division
Winner – Cashing Out
This series is a best-practice example of how to deliberate, clear intention and descriptive illustration.
Explanatory
Large division
Winner – The Global Climate Crisis
The judges felt this piece was very timely and detailed in its explanation without overwhelming the reader even with the wealth of new information the author brings to the surface. This submission dives deeply into a topic while focusing solely on the business aspect of the industry without being swayed by the political conversation around solar energy. From a strictly business perspective, this piece does an exemplary job at explaining the missteps and missed opportunities and connecting them along the way without taking a political side.
Honorable Mention – Inside workers’ fracturing relationship with employers
The judges felt the submission was very approachable and the first-person narrative really worked for this particular topic. Throughout the piece the reader gets a very good sense of the underlying data that supports the claims without it ever feeling clunky or weighted down by too many statistics. The judges also appreciated that the authors followed up with the response from readers to highlight what they missed and the new information they learned that added to the conversation.
Honorable Mention – Power Grab: How AI firms are pushing the U.S. into an energy crisis
With an explosion of new data centers popping up around the country, the judges felt this submission was extremely timely and would continue to be an important topic of discussion moving forward. The reporters do a wonderful job of explaining the problem of AI from a new perspective – energy consumption – and is a great example of how reporters can approach covering businesses with the long-term ramifications in mind.
Medium division
Winner – How Boeing Broke Down
This deeply reported analysis of Boeing’s plunge into sloppy and deadly manufacturing and management practices is a revealing portrait of corporate decline that takes the reader well beyond the day-to-day accounts of the planemaker’s troubles. Exceptionally well written, it showcases a keen knowledge of the company’s history and business approaches over a long period of time. It’s the sort of thing that should be studied in MBA programs as a cautionary tale.
Honorable Mention – A Pandemic Threat: How the US Lost Control of Bird Flu
This eye opening series, which is ever more timely, does an excellent job explaining how bird flu took off, highlighting gaps in surveillance caused in part by dairies’ unwillingness to cooperate and the weaknesses of the government’s ability to respond. The relevance of this story will become even more pronounced in the coming months.
Honorable Mention – Reshoring: How Wisconsin factory work is returning from China
This excellent series brings to life how U.S. manufacturing firms are able to benefit from tariffs to build back their domestic operations, relying on numerous examples to do so, humanizing a subject that is typically written about in abstract terms of little meaning to average people.
Small division
Winner – Michigan’s Expensive Incentives Produce Few (and Low Paying) Jobs
The winning entry from Bridge Michigan is a great example of accountability journalism. Reporter Paula Gardner scoured documents and made use of public information requests to expose inconsistencies in official statements and reveal how money pledged to corporations for manufacturing projects may never recoup Michigan taxpayer investments.
Honorable Mention – How invisible medical groups are powering telehealth’s GLP-1 ‘gold rush’
Amid a proliferation of telehealth groups pitching GLP-1s, the reporters dug deep to find that the growth has been driven by four medical groups that often cut corners to write more prescriptions. STAT offered a fresh angle on a well-covered story, alerting the public to a worrisome trend in the market for weight loss drugs.
Honorable Mention – Trade ‘Loophole’ Spurs New Retail Economy
Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan at The Information explained how an obscure, century old US trade provision designed to let tourists bring home souvenirs from overseas fueled the rise of Shien and Temu and has sent US companies scrambling to set up warehouses in Canada and Mexico. Great anecdotes and detailed reporting brought a potentially abstract policy problem to life.
Feature
Large division
Winner – The Egg
The Egg demonstrates just what a global news operation can do when it marshalls its resources. With eight writers, one illustrator, and a half-dozen photographers, The Egg chronicles the $35 billion market in human eggs.
The tale ranges far and wide, from Taiwan to Australia to India to Argentina to Greece and to the US. And it covers a group of women playing myriad roles, from egg donors to egg recipients to egg wranglers to the health professionals and business people making this biological marketplace tick.
And yet for all its sweep, the story is intimate. The reader gets to know the subjects closely and follow their dramas, their hopes, and their ordeals. The key is the story’s structure. By delivering The Egg in a series of vignettes, the editors deserve great credit for making this chronicle accessible, and indeed, as the judges found, un-put-downable.
This framing does the topic great justice. Because The Egg reports on a global development that demands debate, study, and scrutiny. As a piece of well-engineered storytelling, this piece should help make that happen.
Honorable Mention – In Cold Blood
This story reads like a lost Coen Brothers film, but it isn’t funny. In this engrossing piece about Yeti, the red-hot cooler maker, and the brothers who built the company, Brendan Borrell writes how an all-American story of business prowess turned into a hair-raising tale of greed and murder. Along the way, he exposes how the global supply chain shapes consumer products in surprising, even shocking ways. Written in lively, engaging prose, In Cold Blood demonstrates the finest traits in business feature writing.
Honorable Mention – Silicon Valley, the New Lobbying Monster
In this deeply reported story, Charles Duhigg shows how Silicon Valley’s lobbying efforts morphed from marginal to dominant. At the heart of the tale is Chris Lehane, a political operative who developed innovative techniques for helping clients such as Airbnb, and eventually, OpenAI, bend policies to their liking. By focusing on Lehane, Duhigg makes this a business story as much as a political one, and also helps the reader access a little seen and understood world. This is first-rate storytelling about a new force in US political power.
Medium division
Winner – Priscila, Queen of the Rideshare Mafia
A feature category winner should be a great read and this story delivered. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish – it just kept getting better. The reporter used a creative strategy of writing Priscila in prison to ask for an interview and exchanging emails, which teased out delicious details. The writer also showed empathy for Priscila, an immigrant from Brazil being a little too clever in trying to make a living in America.
Honorable Mention – Forging Fortnite: How a North Carolina studio made the world’s biggest game
This series offered an in-depth look at the development of one of the world’s most popular video games.The reporter got former Epic employees to detail all the phases they went through to build Fortnite, including a time when the game narrowly averted being cancelled. The use of the game’s primary colors as background for the articles, as well as Fortnite-like graphics and quizzes, helped keep readers engaged.
Honorable Mention – Hot Mess
If the great Sriracha breakup were a case study in a business school course, the Fortune article should be required reading. Fortune had access to both protagonists in the story and made the most of it. The narrative was compelling and demonstrated how great business stories often come down to personalities.
Small division
Winner – Gaslighting
Lisa Sorg’s eye-opening series paints a vivid portrait of a state grappling with an alarmingly rapid expansion of natural gas infrastructure. Drawing upon reporting from six months embedded in communities across North Carolina, Sorg chronicles the environmental and human toll of building “a liquified natural gas processing facility, four natural gas plants, multiple compressor stations and a clutter of pipelines” across the state.
The first installment sets the dramatic scene via public hearings, kitchen table conversations, and the view from a Cessna plane above the “brown scour of rubble and dirt” in the forest that’s the future site of Dominion’s $400 million Moriah Energy Center. (That installment is illustrated with stunning photos by Julia Wall of The Assembly and informative graphics.) The next story zooms in on the moving story of a family of beekeepers whose farm and livelihood is at risk because of a pipeline expansion, telling their story in words and lovely photos taken by Sorg herself. And the last shows the state’s climate and environmental activist community bracing and preparing for the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Overall it’s a powerful package that shows in striking detail not just the power and money stacked in the fossil fuel industry, but also the determination and strategic brilliance of the broad activist movement pushing back against the rapid expansion.
Honorable Mention – The Hard Work of Bringing Kelp to Market
Alexandra Talty’s vivid writing brings to life the struggles of kelp farmers in Maine, Alaska, and New York. The entrepreneurs in this growing industry see great opportunity and also face major challenges, as Talty explains. Rich with observed detail, strong quotes, thorough explanation, and deep reporting on the funding and infrastructure challenges of America’s blue economy, this feature (part of a larger series on the rise of kelp) is a fascinating glimpse into a new American industry that few are aware of.
Honorable Mention – This father built a gene therapy for his son. Now comes the harder part: saving others’ children, too
In his exploration of the Wild West of gene therapy for rare diseases, Jason Mast masterfully tells the heartbreaking stories of parents fighting for the life-saving treatments for their dying children, drawing readers through the story with skillful and restrained dramatic tension. But this story is not a simple tear-jerker: Terry Pirovolakis, the man at the center of Mast’s compelling tale, is a noble but complicated character, and the question Mast asks about him is a thought-provoking one: “Superhero or Don Quixote?” It’s a powerful, and at times infuriating, yarn that lays bare one of the fundamental problems with our flawed pharmaceutical pipeline.
General Excellence
Industry/topic-specific publications
Winner – The Examination: Investigating health threats and empowering communities
The Examination’s work is deeply reported and deeply important, shining a light on stories of global and local significance. The dynamic investigation on oil companies highlighted the very real fallout for Americans when regulators and the companies they police are willing to downplay the risks of toxic gas leaks. It also demonstrated the best of public interest journalism providing residents with an interactive map that allowed them to look up their risk levels.
Stories on the tobacco industry and chemical companies that pollute gave regulators a roadmap to action. And the scoop on ex-FDA lawyers jumping ship to join the tobacco industry shone a light on the need for stronger regulations to preserve independent government. The package also demonstrated that smaller newsrooms can punch well above their weight on the most important stories when they get creative about collaborations.
Large division
Winner – Bloomberg News
In a field of outstanding entries, Bloomberg’s submission stands above the rest. These stories showcase global breadth, depth, reporting and editing rigor presented with compelling multimedia presentations suited to each story. In a year of tumultuous changes, the Bloomberg teams both shed new light on important issues and drew attention to those previously hidden. In many cases, the stories spurred regulatory action. That’s the dictionary definition of journalistic excellence.
Honorable Mention – Reuters
The Reuters entry stands out for its deep and enlightening reporting on complex subjects across a range of difficult topics to unearth.
Medium division
Winner – Barron’s
We were impressed by Barron’s smart takes, its approach to storytelling and the quality of the writing. Each entry from Barron’s tackled a complex topic but delivered it in a way that was digestible and a pleasure to read. Its work on pharmacy-benefit managers gave us a glimpse into a part of the opaque health care industry that was enthralling. The data-heavy look into millennial finances was a nuanced and riveting look at one of the most popular topics of the last 20 years.
Honorable Mention – The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a real standout in local journalism. Its coverage on what caused the plug on the Alaska MAX 9 jet to blow off is the kind of pace-setting journalism that all beat reporters should aspire to deliver. Its pieces on the housing and real estate were also interesting looks at a perennial issue for its readers.
Small division
Winner – STAT: Tough-minded and authoritative journalism
Impactful, intelligent, deeply-reported storytelling with rich context that makes you feel smarter after reading. STAT is definitely punching way above its weight – it’s hard to imagine them as a ’small’ newsroom.
Honorable Mention – Crain’s New York Business
This entry served as an authoritative voice on the inner workings of its city and the characters and companies who run it. The standout was an investigation into the obscure nonprofits — with billions in government contracts — that effectively run New York City with little oversight. Plus, the newsroom’s creative and deliberate visual presentations helped enhance the reader experience.
Government
Large division
Winner – The Sprawling Chinese Hack That Took America by Surprise
In an alarming and consequential series of stories, The Wall Street Journal broke news of a wide-ranging Chinese hack of U.S. internet service providers, and then followed up with stories that revealed how deeply the spy ring had reached into America’s telecommunications networks, ultimately compromising the cell phone lines of security policy officials, lawmakers and those involved with presidential campaigns. The stories covered a lot of ground in a relatively short period of time and prompted one lawmaker to call it “one of the most serious breaches” he had ever seen.
Honorable Mention – Locked Out
Ambitious reporting effort that exposed the widespread and often illegal lockouts of tenants for alleged rent violations in several metro areas across the U.S. Because such evictions aren’t tracked by court orders, the reporters searched for keywords in thousands of local 911 calls to establish how such tactics seem to have risen in the last few years. They combined these statistics with emotional vignettes, graphics and even some audio of renters and the police officers they called for help.
Medium division
Winner – A Pandemic Threat: How the US Lost Control of Bird Flu
The stories provide disturbing details about the rise in the avian flu, how it jumped from birds to cows and now to humans, and the failures of state and federal regulators to contain the outbreak. Maxmen’s reporting, which included 70 interviews and public records requests in five states, also illustrated the power of the farm lobby as a factor in the slow regulatory response. The judges noted the difficulty of the reporting and the superior writing in the entries, bringing the impact of this outbreak into vivid context. Maxmen wrote, “Just a few mutations could allow the bird flu to spread between people. Because viruses mutate within human and animal bodies, each infection is like a pull of a slot machine lever.”
Honorable Mention – High and Dry: Inside Boston’s broken liquor license system
For an honorable mention, the judges select “High and Dry: Inside Boston’s Broken Liquor License System,” by Shirley Leung and Diti Kohli of the Boston Globe. Liquor licenses are an underappreciated way in which cities control commercial development. Latching onto a live public debate, the reporters penetrated how these lucrative government-granted monopolies had been unequally distributed, limiting the growth of underserved neighborhoods and pushing chefs out of the city. The series was forcefully written and vividly illustrated, with eye-popping details about how corporate entities had ensured access to alcohol sales while startup restaurateurs tried to get by without.
Small division
Winner – Inside the IRS
This entry stood out in this category and helped the reader understand the roadblocks that the IRS faces. The reporting was comprehensive and helped readers clearly understand what could be a complex topic.
Honorable Mention – California Inmates Say They Urgently Need Workplace Heat Standards — but the State Has Delayed Adopting Them
Loved how this shines a light on an overlooked population. An important piece of journalism. Right from the lede, the author takes us inside the prison to understand the working environment. The author did a great job giving us details about the system.
Health/Science
Large division
Winner – The Egg
This extraordinary work of investigative journalism sheds light on the murky, multi-billion-dollar human egg trade through a compelling, character-driven narrative. The judges were impressed by the quality of the storytelling and the scope of this investigation, which follows multiple women across several continents. The writing is equal parts beautiful and haunting; this is a story that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it.
Honorable Mention – Abuses at Acadia Healthcare
It doesn’t take long for the reader of this story to sit back, put their hand on their head, and think, “This is unbelievable”—and yet it’s all true. Meticulously sourced, masterfully told, and a model piece of investigative journalism, “Abuses at Acadia Healthcare” details a for-profit business run amok and gives an outraged voice to the voiceless patients it exploited.
Honorable Mention – Dealing the Dead
This chilling series features detailed reporting about the crude commoditization of corpses and powerfully conveys the grief of surviving family members. Prompting firings, reviews, and potential policy and legislative changes, “Dealing the Dead” speaks for some of society’s most vulnerable people and carries on the legacy of a cherished colleague.
Medium division
Winner – Oil companies leak toxic gas across Texas — making local residents sick
Impressive reporting and presentation on an environmental hazard that deserves more attention than it has received. The reporting covers all sides of the issue and unfolds in a clear, easy-to-follow narrative. The presentation includes an online map that provides an interactive element and enables readers to determine whether the issue affects them personally.
Honorable Mention – How Private Equity and an Ambitious Landlord Put Steward Health Care on Life Support
The main story could be a case study about how to follow the money. The chronological, data-driven narrative provides a definitive account of a buyout gone wrong. Emails and other leaked documents add a visual element and lend authority to the account. This wasn’t a one-off, as shown by a related story on ”private spies.” There was also an anecdote-driven story about Massachusetts hospitals for good measure.
Honorable Mention – The bittersweet reality of a new Alzheimer’s drug
Deeply reported, stylishly written, beautifully told. The story spotlights an issue that has plagued the drug industry for many years — its struggle to develop effective treatments for Alzheimer’s — through the example of someone who lost his career to the disease and the spouse who has to deal with the aftermath.
Small division
Winner – Captured: How pesticide regulators place industry profits above public health
This is a terrific package that was the result of much combing through scientific research and extensive reporting. The result is a damning look at a regulatory system that is failing to protect public health. The second story puts faces on the result of these decisions to really drive home what is at stake when the process falls short. This was an exceptional package detailing a flawed reliance on industry-funded scientific analyses at the EPA and the health impact of such chemicals being used in fields on farmworkers.
Honorable Mention – The War on Recovery
This was an astounding feat of reporting about the much-agonized-about opioid crisis and how we as a society are sleeping on the medications that could really help solve it. Very comprehensive, well-written and multi-faceted reporting here. This is an exhaustive package of stories that resulted in action. The package was well organized and easy to read. It really takes the reader by the hand and guides them from one aspect of the story to the next. While the topic may be familiar to some, the scope of the reporting and the detailed data analysis breaks new ground.
International Reporting
Large division
Winner – Inside Peru’s Secret Luxury Supply Chain
An amazing account of how unpaid and underpaid Peruvian ranchers contribute to the creation of some of the world’s most expensive luxury clothing goods, taking place under an exclusive contract to France’s LVMH. The article paints the picture for readers on both sides of the Atlantic. Andian villagers get little to nothing to herd and shear vicuna, whose fur is used to make $9,000 sweaters.
Honorable Mention – Africa’s Failed Biometrics
Each article is a penetrating look into the significant risks of using modern biometric technologies in nations with regimes that appear unwilling or unprepared to use them to empower average citizens. Despite international calls for such systems as a way to help usher these nations into fairer and more modern times, the stories show the unintended consequences of unleashing powerful new technologies with little oversight and seemingly no regard for human rights.
Honorable Mention – Tech/Chips/Trade
Counterintuitive stories on a key national security topic. U.S. chip sanctions are often described in the broadest terms as a successful counter to China and Russia. But the Times used great on-the-ground reporting to refute that and detail the innovative methods smugglers use to evade sanctions. The reporters tracked specific chips to Russian missiles and Chinese street markets.
Medium and small division
Winner – Iraq’s Dollar Auction: The ‘Monster’ Funneling Billions to Fraudsters and Militants Through the Fed
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’s scoop out of Iraq is a textbook lesson on the importance of international investigative journalism. Following a report from the Iraqi government, OCCRP journalists used a variety of sophisticated reporting techniques to show how a program set up by the US had been fleeced by terrorists. We felt that this package held powerful people accountable, followed the money, and dug in on a complicated matter. It was a well-told story with immense implications for the Middle East.
Honorable Mention – TSMC at Center of U.S. – China Tension
The Information broke important news in this entry and laid out the complicated and serious implications of the story. TSMC, the giant chipmaker in Taiwan, is caught between competing and conflicting interests in China and the US. The Information went beyond the news, explaining stakes and the potential worldwide impact on prices of everything from cars to computers. The story was well reported and well written and is an important “get” at a time when other news organizations were focused elsewhere.
Investigative
Large division
Winner – Musk Above the Law
The WSJ has been the only publication to dig into Elon Musk and hold the world’s wealthiest man to account to such an extent—exposing his regular conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, inappropriate relationships with women subordinates at SpaceX, and drug usage that has raised flags to people close to him and could jeopardize government contracts of his various companies. The judges selected this package as the winner due to the meticulousness of the reporting, details and colorful scenes, and—most important—the level of impact, which feels all the more prescient today with the political power Musk now yields.
Honorable Mention – Dealing the Dead
It’s almost unfathomable to imagine the existence of a shadowy, underground industry of “body brokers,” where bodies and body parts unclaimed for medical research — often from society’s most poor and vulnerable — are traded in secrecy, unbeknownst to their grieving loved ones. But that’s exactly what NBC News’ yearlong investigation uncovered, leading to policy changes, increased oversight, firings and suspensions at the once-prestigious University of North Texas Health Science Center and, most important, closure for the many families left in the dark. The judges commended the series as a testament to the power of journalism to uncover injustice and advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Honorable Mention – The Migrant Pipeline
This deep dive explored a hidden consequence of the broken American immigration system -how the consumer-driven U.S. economy is dependent on unauthorized migrants to grow businesses, keep goods flowing and fill essential jobs most Americans do not want. The investigation revealed the web between the “middlemen” linking migrant workers hungry for jobs and some very high profile consumer brands that regularly rely on those workers.
Medium division
Winner – Globe Spotlight coverage of Steward Health Care
Aggressive, skilled journalists of Globe Spotlight Team and OCCRP unwrapped evil deeds of Steward Health Care and related properties in a yearlong investigation of wrongful deaths, financial neglect and repossessed surgical equipment. Amazing thoroughness and a sea of well-chosen interviews blazed the trail to a grand jury probe and new laws in financial transparency. Great teamwork.
Honorable Mention – Cook County Assessor Misclassifies Hundreds of Properties, Missing $444M in One Year Alone
Everybody makes mistakes, but property tax gaffes can be gigantic. Chicago Tribune and Illinois Answers Project conducted a deeply researched battle with bureaucracy in the form of for an entire year using the state’s own systems. They found $444 million in misclassifications in the County Assessor’s office, from missing new construction to undervaluing. They interviewed a raft of homeowners hurt by the problems. After stories appeared, the Assessor promised to add hundreds of missing payments back. The teamwork on this was impeccable.
Honorable Mention – The Only Hospital in Town
A textbook example of investigative reporting in action. KFF’s nimble, multitalented reporters began with the dismal basics that were known about medical-system consolidation in Appalachia, then dug in and discovered a fresh array of startling, conscience-shocking consequences. They brought nuance to behind-the-scenes political maneuvering while remaining clear and unsparing in their assessment of the costs that too rarely get counted. Kudos to them for shining a light that was bright enough to do some disinfecting.
Small division
Winner – Health Care’s Colossus
Stat’s series Health Care Colossus is an outstanding examination of how UnitedHealth amassed immense power over the health system to earn profits while driving up costs for patients and businesses. Stat’s reporters masterfully showed that UnitedHealth pressured physicians to provide unnecessary care to help derive billions of dollars from Medicare Advantage. Doctors said they treated patients as if they were fields of medical codes to be harvested. They also spelled out how the company’s consolidation of insurance and provider services creates multiple conflicts of interests and reduces the level of care for patients. Stat showed that UnitedHealth’s clinicians made older patients appear sicker to boost government reimbursements. The abuses and excesses outlined by Stat helped to foreshadow the outrage at the company after one of its executives was murdered in December 2024.
Honorable Mention – Chemical Capture
Lisa Held’s revealing three-part series on pesticides, profits and politics offers a deep dive on how powerful agrichemical giants like Bayer and industry trade groups stealthily lobby lawmakers to insulate themselves from liability for the potentially dangerous products they sell to America’s farmers. Most Americans have no idea what a “neonicotinoid” is, but it’s fascinating to learn that even many farmers aren’t quite sure why this bug-killing chemical – whose efficacy is questionable — is all over the corn they plant. Finally, the series delves into the furor over “forever chemicals” by unpacking how innocuous-sounding industry groups like “Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment” have successfully delayed and defanged efforts by state legislatures to phase out those harmful chemicals.
Investing/Markets
Large division
Winner – Easy Money
With extraordinary details and compelling narratives, the Bloomberg team laid bare the opaque, cutthroat world of distressed debt and the stakes for businesses, investors and the economy at large. The series is a textbook example of financial markets reporting.
Honorable Mention – The dramatic rise and fall of Trump’s Truth Social
From the executives and insiders who won big to the retail investors who lost out, the Washington Post covered all the bases documenting the rise and fall of Donald Trump’s Truth Social.
Medium division
Winner – Investigating Annuities
This package provides a compelling and timely overview of the risks to American savers and retirees from a burgeoning corner of the financial world that markets itself as a safe investment option. Jacob Adelman’s dogged pursuit of obscure data, lucid writing and easy to digest tables laid out the dangers and conflicts of interest with annuity provider A-CAP’s investments with compelling clarity. Adelman’s reporting was happily borne out by regulatory action against A-Cap and its subsidiaries.
Small division
Winner – Who Needs an IPO?
This trio offers a high-impact, deeply reported look into the evolving world of private market investing. Each story is exclusive and well-sourced, revealing important trends affecting major startups and investors. Well done.
Media/Entertainment
Large division
Winner – OnlyFans Exposed
The Reuters team produced an impressive and in-depth series examining the OnlyFans adults-only site. The investigation revealed a stark contradiction between how OnlyFans markets itself and the reality experienced by some content creators. While the company presents itself as a platform that empowers individuals through financial independence and robust content protection, Reuters uncovered more than 100 cases where people had their explicit videos uploaded without consent or knowledge.Some victims reported struggling to get meaningful responses from OnlyFans when reporting unauthorized content. The stories were meticulously researched and centered on real people’s experiences, revealing the dark side of a social media platform that’s used by millions. The investigation isn’t simply of interest to media insiders but has mass appeal. Reuters’ reporting effectively challenges the carefully crafted public image of a platform that positions itself as a safe haven for adult content creators.
Honorable Mention – The Murdoch Family Battle
Rutenberg and Mahler are to be congratulated for breaking the story about Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to cut out three of his children from directing Fox Corporation after he dies. The reporters then kept producing scoops as the Murdoch family went before a Nevada commissioner and then the decision by that commissioner. Congratulations to the NYT team for being ahead of the pack all the way.
Medium and small divisions
Winner – The Gateway to Gambling for Kids
Great stories uncover the hidden dangers that seem harmless but have insidious consequences. As states continue to legalize online gaming, a new virtual concern emerges – gambling tied to video games. Devor’s series introduces “skin” gambling, where millions of underage players bet with valued virtual items from games such as “Counter-Strike.” Devor’s reporting revealed how Valve, the game’s developer, profited from this unregulated economy, with some in-game items valued in the thousands. It not only harms the children who play the games, but is a gateway to more serious forms of gambling.
Newsletter
Large division
Winner – DealBook
Dealobook sets the standard for a daily newsletter. It has original reporting and every day leads with sharp analysis of one or more of the most important stories of the day. It is indispensable reading for anyone interested in business.
Honorable Mention – Lingling Wei’s newsletter takes WSJ readers inside China
Many of the newsletters submitted were well written compendiums of the day’s news, relying on the author’s writing skills. WSJ China by Lingling Wei distinguishes itself with sharp insights that go well beyond what is available in other reporting, presented in a clear and sharp way.
Medium division
Winner – 2024: The Media Campaign
The highlighted stories provide good context, plenty of data and analysis and are presented in a thoughtful fashion. These stories make the connection between an industry and the broader economy and society. Comprehensive, highly skimmable for busy readers, and includes exclusives/scoops. The author clearly hustles and is very plugged in to her beat.
Small division
Winner – Endpoints Health Tech
Through solid explanatory journalism, Endpoint Health Tech highlights key issues in the healthcare industry and delivers original reporting that gives insight around the future of medicine. What set Endpoints submission apart was its approach to tackling complex and controversial topics. From its explanatory journalism about value-based care to asking probing questions about the sustainability and pricing of weight loss drugs to its coverage of the Wells Fargo lawsuit demonstrated a commitment to helping its audience understand the significant issues in the health tech industry. Recognizing it with a SABEW Best in Business award would be a well-deserved acknowledgment of its impact and excellence in health tech journalism.
Honorable Mention – Inside Clean Energy
The Inside Clean Energy Newsletter punches above its weight, with insightful, well-researched analysis on important issues shaping the transition to a clean energy future. What elevates this newsletter to the top is its ability to not just report on trends but to provide a sharp, well-supported perspective on the forces driving change. With a keen pulse on the industry’s biggest battles—such as the clash between tech giants over data center energy demands—it goes beyond the surface to uncover the strategies reshaping the power sector.
Personal Finance
Large division
Winner – The Growing Toll of Caregiving
The Wall Street Journal’s series on caregiving illuminates one of America’s most pressing crises: the personal and economic toll of caregiving for aging family members. Through meticulous research and intimate storytelling, Clare Ansberry and Anne Tergesen transform abstract statistics into human experiences, revealing how millions of Americans navigate the profound challenges of caring for aging loved ones amid a fragmented support system.
By documenting the invisible labor and financial sacrifices of caregivers, the series exposes critical gaps in our social infrastructure while capturing the significant stresses facing millions of families as America’s population ages. The series examines the financial costs of expensive in-home care and nursing homes — expenses that many families can’t afford — as well as the impact on careers and relationships.
The reporting demonstrates exceptional commitment to its subjects, earning their trust to share vulnerable moments and difficult truths.
Medium division
Winner – Diagnosis: Debt Colorado
A superb example of collaboration across organizations, this package skillfully places a local lens on a national story. The high caliber of reporting shines in highlighting underserved community members and providing a comprehensive look at a surprising, yet widespread, issue. Furthermore, this reporting led to real action, including a change to Colorado law.
Honorable Mention – Financial Risks for Retirees
This package provides an insightful overview of some of the key expenses retirees, particularly those dealing with intricacies of Medicare and long-term care policies, face today. It is thoroughly researched and engaging. Barron’s senior writer Elizabeth O’Brien effectively illuminates important issues and provides key points for Americans in search of reliable information.
Small division
Winner – Surviving on $1,800 a Month in Social Security, She Died Looking for a Place to Live
This story stands out for its meticulously reported and deeply empathetic approach to a critical issue. Through the heartbreaking life story of Joanne Erickson, and the detailed documentation of many turning points of her life and “what ifs,” the piece sheds light on the harsh realities of homelessness among seniors and the systemic failures that leave vulnerable individuals without a safety net.
Podcast/Audio
Large division
Winner – The FBI called. Then she got scammed.
You might not think the story of how one 80-year-old woman lost $600,000 to a scammer would be notable given the fact that billions of dollars a year are lost to such fraudulent schemes, but in the hands of the Washington Post’s Charla Freeland and Michelle Singletary, the tale leaps off the page, or in this case, out of the speakers. In the Post Reports podcast episode “The ‘FBI’ called. Then she got scammed,” Singletary explores how Judith Boivin, 80, lost her life savings to a scammer who posed as an FBI agent, telling the story from multiple perspectives, including from the point of view of the victim, financial institutions, and lawmakers. The storytelling, depth of research, original reporting, and big picture takeaways all illustrate the damage wrought by scams – among them, the shame felt by the victims and lack of redress, including the outrageous fact that victims have to then pay taxes on money stolen from them.
Honorable Mention – Foundering: The OpenAI story
To the extent most people know Sam Altman’s name, it’s because he is Silicon Valley entrepreneur who Elon Musk really dislikes, and the guy who got fired and rehired in the space of a week. Bloomberg journalists Ellen Huet and Shawn Wen decided to explain just who the CEO of Open AI really is. In a podcast that recognizes artificial intelligence is the technology that likely defines this generation, they sketched a compelling, warts-and-all portrait of a complex character.
Huet and Wen told the story not by simply talking to each other, but by reaching to people who knew Altman in his formative years, like his high school teacher and the investor who backed Altman’s first venture at age 19. What emerged is a tale of an entrepreneur who made big promises, then often failed to deliver. The reporters track Altman’s knack for both make powerful friends and alienate influential rivals. By the end of the series, listeners understand the promise of AI that makes Altman a central player in a key tech sector. The audience also knows why OpenAI’s board lost faith in its leader, and why Musk can’t stand the guy.
Medium division
Winner – An Arm and a Leg
At a time when healthcare costs remain one of the most pressing financial issues for millions of Americans, An Arm and a Leg delivers a masterclass in accessible, high-impact journalism. Through meticulous reporting, deep sourcing, and sharp storytelling, this podcast series demystifies the often-incomprehensible economics of medical pricing.
Small division
Winner – Why are Seattle sports games so expensive? We looked into that and ways to save.
This entry was both entertaining and informative — an example of terrific ”follow the money” reporting with compelling, well-edited audio that holds the listener’s attention. This is a must-listen to anyone who plans to buy tickets to a sporting event this year.
Real Estate
Large division
Winner – Uncovered in the U.S.
The report is filled with surprising insights, such as how government entities are stepping in to cover risks that private insurers avoid, and uncovering inconsistencies in flood-risk models. It emerged as a notable standout in a field of impressive entries.
Honorable Mention – Housing America
Dougherty delivers a thought-provoking look at the housing challenges facing millions. The article blends sharp investigative reporting with poignant personal stories, offering a nuanced perspective on the intersection of policy, economics, and everyday life.
Medium division
Winner – Rigged
This article offered a compelling narrative that was one part investigation, one part explanatory journalism into loopholes in Florida’s legal system. It also had a clear impact, with legislators compelled to introduce bills to close those loopholes. You could see the journalistic effort required to track down this story, which was well-written and comprehensive.
Honorable Mention – The Golden Triangle: How the CHIPS Act is changing one Arizona neighborhood
A comprehensive write-up with good background, lots of sources and an interesting story. The judges appreciated the organization of the story and the presentation.
Small division
Winner – The End of the A-Team
Wall, Kallergis and Cranley broke the story — outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal followed. The Real Deal was like a dog with a bone while reporting on this story of sexual abuse that has rocked the real estate world. The writing was sharp and tight with compelling narrative details. The judges were struck by how very, very well reported this series was given the complexity and difficulty of the subject. Tremendous work!
Honorable Mention – Downtown Minneapolis property tax fights
A perfect example of a local business publication doing what they should be doing. The writing was concise and easy to digest. Of particular note were the visuals and slick graphics.
Honorable Mention – From Toxic Mold to Rampant Fraud: How Privatizing Military Housing Became a Nightmare for Soldiers
Kladzyk exhaustively chronicled the widespread problem of mold and fraud in US military housing — an issue that directly affects thousands of people in the services. The story had exemplary reporting and tremendous impact with federal lawmakers taking notice and the U.S. Defense Department announcing the launch of a system to enhance military housing accountability.
Retail
Large division
Winner – McDonald’s Child Labor Problems
The Washington Post’s investigation effectively used every tool in the reporter’s kit, from clever analysis of data to compassionate interviews with victims, to shed light on an injustice that is rampant in the fast food industry, but which few of these chains’ customers are aware. The investigation had a big impact, pushing powerful investment managers and public treasurers to demand McDonald’s take tougher steps to address child labor violations at its franchises. The comic strip was an innovative way to try to reach younger readers who might be directly affected by these problems and yet may not typically read traditional media publications.
Honorable Mention – The Harsh Math of America’s Crushing Food Bills
Every publication had its version of the “why are food prices so high” story last year, but The Wall Street Journal’s team found unexpected and engaging ways to bring this topic to life. The stories had excellent detail and data, and found victims and villains who probably weren’t front of mind for readers. In doing so, they clearly have helped shape the public discussion around food bills and the economic challenges they bring.
Medium division
Winner – Pharmacy deserts
This is a perfect example of a story that informs you in such a personal way that you don’t even notice that you’re wading into arcane and complex waters. The authors did a beautiful job of marrying data and multi-media reporting with deep knowledge of the industry and street-level anecdotes that make the story come alive.
The judges felt the discomfort of the wheelchair-bound patient, who had one local pharmacy after the other close; the pharmacist spending long nights driving to her customers; and the community members feeling abandoned. At the same time, they learned a great deal about pharmacies and how medical go-betweens may be completely changing the economics of health care.
In a field crowded with exceptional work, this story stood out for its breadth, depth, significance and for the truly wonderful writing.
Honorable Mention – Shop ‘Til You Drop: Luxury, Convenience and Online Addiction
Teresa Rivas shows what a great beat reporter can do with this delightful package of stories. The judges loved the anecdotes in the shopping addiction piece and the deadpanned line about the NRF saying shopping addition ”is not a topic NRF is tracking closely.” The luxury stock story was well done. But, this entry became a prize-winner with the story about the convenience store pizza. Melding the gas, pizzas and the company’s stock in a single, cohesive tale was just great reporting.
Small division
Winner – New York’s Cannabis Legalization ‘Disaster’
The City’s reporting on New York’s cannabis legalization stood out for its deep sourcing and reporting, massive trove of documents and depth and breadth of coverage. The stories “followed the money” to reveal that politicians promised to aid those impacted by the war on drugs but instead guaranteed profits to a private equity firm and favored high-profile figures while saddling small business owners with unaffordable loans. The reporter didn’t stop there, chronicling the fallout and showing how officials ignored prescient warnings about the program.
Honorable Mention – What’s Really in Your Shopping Cart?: Shein and Temu’s Hidden Costs
The Information’s coverage of Shein and Temu revealed that the bargain sites have been exploiting loopholes to avoid restrictions on the use of forced labor and the sale of dangerous goods, including baby products. This is deep reporting with impact, spurring government action on labor and trade practices. The raison d’etre of business journalism is listening to what companies are saying and then reporting on whether they are really following through — and if not, showing the impact. That’s just what the reporters here did, laying bare the companies’ hollow promises to take compliance “very seriously.”
Small Business
Large division
Winner – The Death Industry
This shocking series of stories shows that not much has changed since the seminal reporting on the funeral industry by Jessica Mitford in the early 1960s and that the Federal Trade Commission is effectively aiding and abetting bad actors that capitalize on the grief of survivors. This is a rigorously reported series that pushed beyond the aged data set acquired via FOIA by calling every funeral home on the list to learn what happened after the enforcement. The personal narratives — well selected and balanced — are used to maximum effect in creating an interesting narrative without tipping into maudlin.
Medium and Small division
Winner – Hot Mess
This story blew the judges away with both the depth of its reporting and the quality of storytelling. It unraveled the human backstory of a food shortage that had been in the news, setting up the stakes for both consumers and the sector writ large. Getting access to both founders was a boon, and the writer did a great job of presenting their stories equally.
This piece distinguishes itself through its meticulous unraveling of the complex and ultimately fractured relationship between America’s top hot sauce maker and its chili supplier. It goes far beyond a recounting of the Sriracha shortage, instead presenting a compelling narrative of how a decades-long partnership, built on mutual benefit and a shared vision, disintegrated into a bitter legal battle. What truly elevates this reporting is its ability to humanize the business story. It doesn’t just present facts and figures, but delves into the personal dynamics that underpinned the Sriracha business, from a handshake agreement to increasingly strained negotiations, and ultimately, a complete breakdown of trust.
Honorable Mention – Crunch Time for Consumer Funders
This series delivers a powerful autopsy of prominent food and beverage startup failures. Through deep reporting, the series exposes a confluence of contributing elements: challenging macroeconomic conditions impacting financing options, overhyped consumer concepts, and fundamental flaws in business planning. The reporting also serves as a critical examination of how venture capital is reshaping the traditional food and beverage industry.
Student Journalism
Winner – Lithium Liabilities
Exceptional reporting, topped with compelling storytelling delivered on multiple platforms to strike an immediate impact — the students of the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University pulled it all together for this fascinating investigation into how the drive to mine for lithium has had unexpected consequences.
Technology
Large division
Winner – Is Telegram’s Pavel Durov running a new ’dark web’?
The panel was impressed by the prescient reporting, which illuminated one of the biggest and most troubling underbellies of the web. It reminded us about the importance of getting ahead of big news—Durov’s arrest—through dogged sourcing and relationship-building with reluctant subjects. It’s beat reporting at its best.
Honorable Mention – Car Tracking
The reporter’s curiosity turned a personal experience into revelations about murky data sharing practices by car companies, which could have dire financial consequences for customers. By spreading awareness of these practices, the series prompted legal challenges and empowered readers to take control of their information.
Medium division
Winner – What $42 billion means for nationwide broadband expansion
These stories use on-ground reporting and interviews to help readers understand an otherwise ”technical” or boring topic. They go into the details of the challenges and opportunities in ”the internet’s journey to your home.” The package does not only highlight the technical advantages of fiber optic technology but also goes into its impact on bridging the digital divide, making the story both informative and socially significant.
Honorable Mention – The Vigilance of Satya Nadella
This story weaves together the past of the tech with the future of tech in a wonderful way. Microsoft has been a silent-but-steady company when it comes to how tech has evolved and changed over the decades. In capturing this shift, making Satya Nadella the focus of the story makes it a really interesting read.
Small division
Winner – TikTok’s High-Wire Act in Washington
“TikTok’s High-Wire Act in Washington” from The Information was a skillfully reported series that peeled back deliberations within TikTok and among its investors as it tried to stay afloat. Reporters Juro Osawa, Jing Yang, Sri Muppidi and Erin Woo did a masterful job sourcing these stories and mapping out how the company dismantled its own content moderation policies as part of a lobbying strategy of cozying up to conservatives. Their work highlighted the implications of the company’s move to allow falsehoods and anti-transgender posts to spread on its platform. The team’s writing was clear, well-structured and dramatic.
Honorable Mention – In Rural Pennsylvania, Crypto Mining Offers a Lifeline for Dying Gas Wells
Capital & Main’s “In Rural Pennsylvania, Crypto Mining Offers a Lifeline for Dying Gas Wells” is a great example of making a national story local, and using public records to document how ineffective local government agencies can be when trying to rein in a sophisticated company with its own agenda. The journalist’s use of freedom of information requests to obtain state documents outlining the company’s actions and the regulator’s inability to enforce compliance is textbook accountability reporting. This was a well-told story that was both surprising and compelling.
The Business of Sports
Large division
Winner – Bad Bets: The Shohei Ohtani & Ippei Mizuhara Investigation
Dare we say it, but Tisha Thompson knocked out a home run with this story. Scrappy, procedural journalism at its finest! Amazing story — and bravo to ESPN’s Thompson for bringing it to light.
Medium division
Winner – Alabama’s top NIL collectives
Great stories can result from a reporter refusing to take an announcement at face value and actually chasing down the results over a period of time. That is what the reporter in this story did for a nonprofit collective seeking to raise funds to compensate University of Alabama athletes for their name, image and likeness rights. Through her reporting, she documented the failings of the organization that had received little attention since it was announced, and she went to such great lengths to obtain comment from the collective that they eventually closed down the operation ahead of publication of the story. This is the type of story that should be honored, but also taken as a template – the reporter mentions other colleges that have established similar entities, and other reporters should take note of that and look into those groups. Excellent journalism that was also a joy to read.
Honorable Mention – How the Centene Ice Center went from ‘great’ win to cash crunch and taxpayer bailouts
This is an excellent example of a reporter combining information from public disclosures, records requests and sources into an important accounting of the use of public funds. It had an impact in the community, which jettisoned the leadership that cost the city money, and provides a cautionary tale to other cities that are looking to do business with professional sports franchises.
Small division
Winner – Nathan Rubbelke’s Sports Package
The St. Louis Business Journal’s three-story package was a well-rounded approach to analyzing the long-term effects of the Rams’ departure. Nathan Rubbelke’s reports went beyond the typical return-on-investment debate and explored the psychological and branding implications for St. Louis. Rubbelke effectively blended sports, business, and civic identity, demonstrating how an NFL team’s presence—or absence—shapes a city’s media visibility, economic momentum, and national perception.
Honorable Mention – March Madness Daily
This entry presents a compelling and well-researched package on the financial complexities of college sports. Each piece examines a different but interconnected aspect: how schools fund athletics, the blurred lines between nonprofit and for-profit institutions, and the NCAA’s financial control over women’s tournament revenue.
We’d also note that these stories contain a significant amount of detail that was not widely covered in other outlets. For example, the first piece draws on Sportico’s database, which exists because Sportico has been compiling annual revenue and expense reports from every public FBS athletic department for over six years. All three stories demonstrate the newsroom’s depth of expertise in legal and business reporting.
Travel/Transportation
Large division
Winner – Inside Boeing’s Factory Mess
After a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines jet while it was mid-flight, the Wall Street Journal’s reporters Sharon Terlep and Andrew Tangel went to work explaining why it happened. The resulting in-depth investigative work showed doggedness, great sourcing, and skillful writing. Including a follow up piece by Tangel and Jon Sindreu, the WSJ was able to clearly explain to readers what went wrong, not only with the jet known as Line No. 8789, but also to the broader culture at Boeing, an icon of American manufacturing that lost its way.
Honorable Mention – The EV Winter
Bloomberg’s coverage of the shifting sands in the volatile EV market was extremely thorough and exhaustive, from the fallout from Hertz’s wrong bet on electric vehicles to how BYD emerged as a global EV powerhouse to checking in with consumers to find out why EVs had suddenly fallen out of favor.
Medium division
Winner – Blowout/fallout
As Boeing reeled from the fallout of a near-catastrophic midair blowout of a door-sized fuselage panel, the reporting team at the Seattle Times sprang into action to both break news and produce a series of deeply reported pieces on the causes of the incident. The coverage revealed key lapses in Boeing’s quality control process and was publicly cited by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, then chair of the committee with oversight of aviation, when she announced hearings into the root causes of the mistakes.
Small division
Winner – Turmoil at Tesla
The Information’s Tesla coverage is our winner thanks to its scoops, strong narrative and crucial takeaways. The judges were impressed by the degree of detail, rigorous research and story structure in the reporting on one of the most high-profile companies in the world.
Video
Large division
Winner – The Hidden Autopilot Data That Reveals Why Teslas Crash
This WSJ entry combines diligent reporting with an even-handed approach to address a much-talked-about topic regarding Tesla’s full self-driving feature. While the conventional wisdom has been that drivers are at fault, this video establishes that the technology itself is deeply flawed. More significantly, it points to a future where such driving features are no longer employed by manufacturers, due to their inherent danger.
Honorable Mention – Ozempic Underworld: The Black Market of Obesity Drugs
CBC’s “Ozempic Underworld: The Black Market of Obesity Drugs” is a compelling and well researched look at the lucrative black market for counterfeit weight loss drugs. It goes from Denver, Colo., to Turkey and China and both shows how all this works and the dangers it poses to often unsuspecting consumers.
Medium and small divisions
Winner – Rare Toads or Clean Energy? An Environmental Law Fight in Nevada
This work is compelling, timely and well-researched, with concise interviews representing a variety of viewpoints. The video is well-produced, with clear and impactful graphics, beautifully composed shots, and natural sound breaks that add texture and rhythm to the narrative. The team managed to explain the issues at play in a dynamic and engaging style. This tale of the toad was well told!
