Winner – The Associated Press: China’s internment camps
- Contributors – Dake Kang, Martha Mendoza, Yanan Wang
- Judges’ Comments – This series offers a compelling narrative that exposes the impact of slave labor by tracing sportswear produced by Chinese detainees to the sales racks of American college bookstores. The reporters employed an impressive array of digital journalism tools along with interviews with families of detainees of Uyghur internment camps in northwest China and former detainees themselves to get the story. They also exposed themselves to considerable danger by walking up to the factory gates and asking armed guards for permission to enter. The story prompted the U.S. government to investigate one company that imported the sportswear and caused some universities to pull the apparel from their shelves.
Honorable Mention – Businessweek: Brexit’s big short
- Contributors – Cam Simpson, Gavin Finch, Kit Chellel
- Judges’ Comments – “Brexit’s Big Short” is a compelling narrative about hedge funds getting secret exit polling data to bet against the pound. This is big money manipulation of both the media and democracy in the pursuit of major windfall profits from currency trading. This was very difficult reporting about two opaque actors — currency markets and hedge funds. The story also raised new questions about a major geopolitical figure and shined a strong light on a dark space where national politics and financial institutions intersect.
