Investigative Reporting ( 10,000 and Over Dailies,5,000 - 10,000 Dailies,Under 5,000 Dailies)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: St. Cloud Times Entry Title: Hope & Fear in Minnesota’s Heartland: Searching for refuge in St. Cloud Entry Credit: Austen Macalus, Randy Krebs, Dave Schwarz, Zach Dwyer, Lisa Schwarz Judge Comment: I groaned when I saw the submission had 18 parts, but as I began reading, I found the stories tugged at the heartstrings and were well-researched, balanced and an easy-to-read-narrative. There are lost opportunities, however, in the presentation. For example, the better photo in the Farhiya Iman story ran on the jump page. With the hed "Hope & Fear" show the tears up front and center or the 'Go home" photo. Bad layout/editorial decision. The 2nd story did a better job, showing "old and new" with an adult and adorable baby. Also, the led on part 3 missed its mark – who cares that Ms. Thielen lived in St. Cloud? The better lede would be her questioning the Somali and East African people moving to her area in light of 9/11. If you're going to use her prejudice and attitude turnaround as the focus of the story highlight it without tiptoeing around it with a boring lede. That said, this entry was the only true entry that fit the "investigative" definition. Clearly, it had hours and hours of research, interviews and writing. Many, many voices with similar, yet different stories as it relates to the refugees, and also includes the perspectives of city leaders, state officials, supporters and anti-supporters. Also makes good use of statistical research. Appears to make use of the paper's archives, but that information is easily intertwined in with this story that isn't always obvious where the past meets the present. Also uses common elements in the stories, e.g., the "Share your voice" information, and the reminder about the series and what's next info. Well done.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Duluth News Tribune Entry Title: Northland preps for COVID-19 Entry Credit: John Lundy, Brady Slater, Andee Erickson, Jamey Malcomb Judge Comment: Well researched, informative preview of what became a pandemic and world-wide crisis. Touched numerous aspects of the community/caregivers. Well done.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Fargo/Moorhead - The Forum Entry Title: Hospital ignored red flags before severe assault Entry Credit: Patrick Springer Judge Comment: Interesting; included many voices, including notations of those who didn't want to talk. Good use of documents available as well. Changes as a result of the assault, however, were buried.
Competition Comment: I enjoyed reading all the submissions. However, many were, IMHO, entered in the wrong category. Doing one or two public records request or reporting from straight from court documents does not equal "investigative" when those are the only or primary source for a story. Investigative JRN is the unveiling of concealed information, whether intentionally hid or accidentally, and its purpose is to find truth. As such, I selected as winners the stories I felt best represented true research, comprehensive interviews and strong writing.
