2024 Beat Reporting (Small Newsroom) Finalists
Wyatt Massey
Spotlight PA
Penn State Beat Reporting
- Penn State trustees rarely discuss key issues before voting — unless they’re related to athletics or rules for members
- Top Penn State Health surgeons warned leaders about transplant problems months before shutdown. Then he was let go.
- Penn State trustees deliberated on $700M Beaver Stadium renovations in private meetings, according to the board chair
- Before Penn State pledged more money for ‘promising’ diversity efforts, some of their budgets had been cut
- Group of Penn State trustees push to name football field after Joe Paterno in private meetings
Comments From the Judges:
“I liked this entry for its watchdog approach, for challenging trustees who aren’t used to being challenged and for calling out a respected state university for dubious behavior. The transplant whistleblower story put a spotlight on a culture that puts people’s lives at risk and the DEI story was a great example of calling attention to officials that say one thing while doing another.”
“Overall this is a quality portfolio of investigative stories that hold institutions accountable via extensive research and sourcing. Great job getting access to internal documents and sources for the health system story. The author’s writing frames the story effectively, using Lynch’s personal experience as a guide to explain larger issues with the health system’s culture and quality.”
Molly Minta
Mississippi Today & Open Campus
Investigating the Haves and Have-Nots in Mississippi’s Higher Education System
- ‘The stepchildren:’ Community colleges struggle to fund buildings for growing workforce programs
- College financial aid program designed to exclude Mississippi’s poorest students has helped children of millionaires
- ‘It wasn’t equal:’ Counter-protesters overwhelm pro-Palestinian students at the University of Mississippi
- ‘System of privilege’: How well-connected students get Mississippi State’s best dorms
- USM removed the word ‘diverse’ from its mission statement. Faculty reps weren’t consulted
Comments From the Judges:
“Good variety of topics covered by this reporter. Appreciated the approach in writing about little known or explored [aspects] of [higher] education and some of the issues unique to Mississippi. This reporter also has a [strong] writing style of showing instead of telling, laying out the facts and letting the sources and their quotes speak for themselves and allowing readers to draw their own conclusions from the reporting.”
“Great stories that shine the light on inequities. The dorm story was my favorite in this portfolio. The author scored key records that revealed an inequitable yet largely hidden practice that favors the privileged. Strong public accountability reporting that makes a difference in Mississippi.”
Asher Lehrer-Small
Houston Landing
Beat Reporting – Asher Lehrer Small, Houston Landing
- Four Houstonians got suspended from school while homeless. Here’s how it changed their lives.
- Two days inside an HISD school that improved from F to B grade under Mike Miles’ changes
- America’s biggest education experiment is happening in Houston. Could it change U.S. schools?
- Houston ISD to cut more than 100 staff who serve students experiencing homelessness, hunger
- Silent struggles: Grieving Houston-area students’ well-being at stake as COVID-19 funds fade
Comments From the Judges:
“These stories give voices behind the issues and put readers inside the schools and inside the heads of affected students, mixing both the details of individual experience and the 10,000-foot perspective that helps readers understand meaning and context. The suspended homeless student story is interesting. The examples told readers why the investigation mattered.”
“Great storytelling throughout that makes the stories smooth and easy to read. The author doesn’t just write about the schools and policies from above, but spends time on the ground in the schools to get a closer look. I particularly enjoyed the out-of-the-norm structure of the story about Forest Brook Middle, where the author compares side-by-side what the superintendent says with what critics say and with what the author observed to provide perspectives from multiple sides.”
