2020 Beat Reporting (Large Newsroom) Finalists

Bianca Vázquez Toness Beat Reporting
Bianca Vázquez Toness
The Boston Globe

Comment from the judges: “This is accountability journalism. The reporter not only found ways to tell compelling stories amid the pandemic, but wrote about things districts were doing or had done that dramatically affected how learning continued and how demographics were disproportionately impacted.​”

Dana Goldstein, K-12 Schools
Dana Goldstein
The New York Times

Comment from the judges: “The stories were timely, often way ahead of others as news outlets sought to show how the pandemic would affect educating the country’s children. The addition of the textbook piece showed that amid the pandemic, life still went on. Months later, stories still offer elements of ‘I wish I’d thought to write that.’”

Laura Meckler
Laura Meckler
The Washington Post

Comment from the judges: “Overall through all her pieces, Meckler shows a great range of types of beat coverage – from policy to the personal and combines this with well-structured storytelling that either breaks your heart, makes you mad, or helps readers get inside bureaucracies to better understand decision-making.”