2021 Audio Storytelling (Larger Newsroom) Finalists

Sasha Aslanian, Catherine Winter, Karin Fischer & Jennifer Ruark
APM Reports, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Fading Beacon: Why America Is Losing International Students

• Fading Beacon: Why America is losing international students

Comments from the Judges:

“Great story with lots of depth of an issue many have yet to tackle or explore. I was enlightened, it was relatable, and well told. Impressive work.”

“This is a well-done investigation into why the U.S. is hemorrhaging international students. It touched on the tuition issue (international students pay a LOT more than U.S. students at most schools). This doc was very thorough”

NBC News staff
NBC News Digital

Southlake

• Southlake

Comments from the Judges:

“This was incredibly well done – highlighting a debate that is taking place in communities around the nation. The voices were strong and the storytelling was compelling. The depth of the reporting added context that is sorely missing from most of the coverage of the debate about changing attitudes within schools – and communities.”

“They magnificently delivered on their effort to produce a ‘rare ground-level look inside a racial and cultural fight,’ and the piece deftly handled some of today’s trickiest and most sensitive issues. Southlake was compelling from start to finish, solidly reported, had quality audio, and had a tremendous impact on the local community and nationally. Other outlets tried to tackle this issue, but no one did it as well as NBC News.”

Ki Sung, Jessica Placzek, Nimah Gobir & Seth Samuel
KQED

Grades Have Huge Impact, But Are They Effective?

• Grades have huge impact, but are they effective?

Comments from the Judges:

“One of my favorites of the MindShift team — really important issue and I loved the reporting and the audio elements, from the kids talking about why they liked or didn’t like grades at the beginning to the interview with the teacher who tried a variety of non-grade methods in his classroom. It had interesting historical context and was useful both for parents and teachers. This was solidly reported and really well told.”

“Really well-done. The story was enriched by including the research on grades. It was a nice look at the way one teacher changed his process.”

SEE THE FULL LIST OF 2021 CATEGORY FINALISTS