2025 Data Reporting & Visualization (All Newsroom Sizes) Winners 1

About the Winners:

The reporting team’s investigation ignited public pressure to fix a transportation problem that’s long been blamed on students – whose grades suffer and whose futures are limited by their struggles to get to school. Transit became a central issue in City Council discussions about chronic absenteeism; more than 100 community members attended a panel discussion about solutions, and lawmakers rode the bus to school with students. 

But after months of continued coverage, the reporters saw little action from people in power. Many insisted the solution was a 10-year transit plan that would leave another generation of students with the same challenges. So reporters launched a follow-up story on an alternative long thought to be impossible in a city with school choice: yellow buses.

Comments From the Judges:

“An outstanding project. These stories clearly document how students often suffer from failure of Baltimore city transit and school systems to provide reliable, safe transportation options. The data work is ambitious, on target, and well explained. Good context, comparison to other school districts, and background; and good accountability coverage. The student sketches and photos put readers there.”

“A huge undertaking to delve into an oft-overlooked element of education — how kids get to and from school. The interactive maps and data visualizations are easy to navigate, creatively presented and effective in making a big issue very tangible for the reader. They’re also easy to navigate and helpful for parents and students. Then, the journalists didn’t stop when city and school officials said the problem was too big to fix; instead, they came forth with a story about tailored solutions. Really great work all around.”

Photo credits: Kaitlin Newman/The Banner