The reporter took six months to tell the story of children who live in decaying residential motels scattered throughout one of the richest counties in America, children who are part of the fastest-growing segment of the poor. The story was told movingly in the voices of the children themselves. The judges cited the reporter for “taking a slice of the population – the children of the working poor – and focusing on it using a vehicle that was unique – the motels and the lives of children who reside there. The piece created empathy without being maudlin. It made a strong and lasting impression with details that haunted you as it showed the children who fall between the cracks in this country. There is no feeling of compassion fatigue about this story – the narrative gave the children dignity. It respected them and their circumstances.”

This six-week examination of domestic violence and the courts was triggered by the murder of a 19-year-old mother of three by her husband less than a week after she had unsuccessfully sought an emergency order of protection from family court. The judges cited this editorial writer’s “impressive reporting; strong, clear writing; passionate, reasoned advocacy; a large but do-able agenda and results. She was inspired by a particular tragedy but she kept her focus on public policy and public officials. She demonstrated the enterprise, curiosity and persistence of a good investigative reporter, along with the focus and outrage of a strong editorial writer. Together, these create work that stepped beyond routine editorial commentary, named names and proposed reforms, and changed her community for the better.”

This story chronicled the odyssey of a Vietnamese youth who has lived in the U.S. since he was four-years-old through the immigration detention system after he was convicted and charged as an adult in a restaurant robbery. The judges said the author “has taken a personal tale - that of Loi Nguyen's - to expose the clear injustice of recent laws passed by Congress which leave some resident aliens, like Nguyen, detained indefinitely. While Perez-Giese's reporting is filled with rich, moving detail, his writing is gently understated. He gives Nguyen's story perspective by skillfully weaving in the history of the recent Congressional legislation passed in the wake of an anti-crime and anti-immigration fervor. This is the kind of gutsy, original reporting one wishes we saw more often.”

Daniel Anderson spent six months documenting the lives of the children who live in decaying residential motels scattered throughout one of the richest counties in America (the story won first place in the over-100,000 circulation newspaper category). The judges said “these compelling photographs captured moments that said it all about the childrens’ lives. There was no feeling of obtruding or staging, but only a clear lens on a complex social problem. It could have been easy to turn this story into a tear-jerker, but the photographer upheld the dignity of the families and helped portray an important, shocking truth.”

This one-hour radio documentary co-produced by Licentenstein Creative Media and Tracey Barry, which aired on public radio stations across the country, focused on cases where juveniles were incarcerated with adults, with context on programs that provide alternatives to prison for young offenders. The judges said the report was “persuasive, compelling and powerful in its ability to cut through stereotypes about treating youths as adult criminals and show how they become victims of the system. This brings to the American public a new lens to view a critical problem that is often not well reported in the news media.”

This hour-long documentary which pre-empted “Caroline In the City” in prime time in Phoenix focused on the story of one teenager’s metamorphosis from childhood to motherhood in Arizona, which has the fourth highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. The judges cited the documentary’s success in capturing “what the reality of life is like for a 14-year-old child who has a child. They spent much time with Angie and her family and that investment showed in powerful ways on the screen. By focusing on one story to illuminate a broader theme, the viewer understands the struggles of the girl’s day-to-day existence. Even more amazing is the fact that they did this with limited resources, following the story of Angie on the side while they carried their usual daily work load.