The 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Diana B. Henriques, retired senior writer for The New York Times.
The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gerald Loeb Awards recognizes a journalist whose career exemplifies the consistent superior insight and professional skills necessary to further the understanding of business, financial and economic issues.
With a career spanning more than five decades, Henriques has made significant contributions to business journalism through her investigative reporting on white-collar crime, market regulation and corporate governance. After graduating from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University in 1969, she worked for several weekly and daily newspapers in New Jersey, including the Trenton Times. In 1982, she joined the business news staff at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her talent for financial reporting led her in 1986 to Barron’s, where she further honed her skills before joining The New York Times in 1989.
At the Times, Henriques became a prominent figure in the business section, covering complex and impactful financial stories, such as the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis. She produced an investigative series in 2004 that led to legislative reforms and financial reimbursements for defrauded American military personnel. She was also part of the Times team that won the 1999 Loeb Award for Deadline and/or Beat Writing.
Her best-selling book, The Wizard of Lies, and its subsequent adaptation into an HBO film further cemented her reputation as a leading voice in financial journalism. Henriques’ involvement with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) highlight her commitment to the industry and mentoring of young journalists.
Henriques’ recognition as recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award underscores her exceptional ability to make Wall Street’s most intricate practices understandable to the general public. Her dedication to holding the powerful accountable is a symbol of journalistic integrity.
