Magazine

Carmichael’s article on Max Blake, a 10-year-old boy with bipolar disorder, is moving and vivid. She didn’t blink or look away from the difficulties faced by Max and his parents: the strain on their marriage, their struggles to love him, the limitations of his future and the degree to which he pushes the limits of what a child can expect from his parents. Carmichael clearly spent the kind of time with Max and his family that enables a reporter to write with insight and close-to-the-ground detail.

McGray finds a creative, compelling and fresh angle in the immigration debate. “The Invisibles” documents the lonely underground community of illegal immigrant students in the University of California system. Diligent reporting and empathetic writing produces a rare look at a group of high-achievers with a bleak future: Despite their academic accomplishments, the students’ lack of documentation destroys opportunities post-graduation.

Labi gained extraordinary access to the secretive, often seamy, and entirely chilling world of "transporters" who forcibly abduct troublesome children to "tough-love" schools for behavior modification. By accompanying one transporter from start to finish, then weaving the results of her excellent reporting into a narrative on the larger phenomenon, Labi earns first-place honors for originality and captivating storytelling.

The article is a multi-layered exploration of President Bush's proposal to promote marriage among welfare recipients, of and the potential political and social consequences of this idea. Werber Serafini’s piece is a detailed and complex treatment of a subject that is in the thick of the ideology wars: how government and society should deal with people on public assistance. While reporting on all sides of the debate, she also looks at the root causes of out-of-wedlock births that gave rise to the marriage initiatives.