Biz stories among Polk winners

Two business news stories were among the winners of the George Polk Awards announced Monday by Long Island University.

Kathy Chu of USA Today has earned the George Polk Award for Business Reporting for a series of stories documenting how banks and credit unions have used steep fees and unscrupulous credit card practices to profit tens of billions of dollars each year off vulnerable customers. Chu’s revelations in “Credit Trap” had a direct influence on at least two Congressional and regulatory measures to reform bank fees.

Her reporting, which helped to educate Congress and American consumers on the inner workings of the financial services industry, led to a flurry of similar news coverage across the country. Consumer advocates have lauded Chu for playing such a pivotal role in uncovering the extent and impact of abusive credit practices.

A team of Bloomberg News reporters who produced a series of stories that demanded accountability from the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board will be honored with the George Polk Award for National Reporting. The late Mark Pittman collaborated with colleagues Bob Ivry, Alison Fitzgerald and Craig Torres to help make transparent the transaction of trillions of dollars toward bank bailouts.

Their stories, which kept a running tally of the government’s and the Fed’s commitments to banks, were invoked by legislators on Capitol Hill and were cited on international radio and television. When the Bloomberg staffers’ Freedom of Information Act requests were denied, their employer filed a lawsuit against the Fed. The media outlet won the case, requiring the central bank to make available to the public more detailed information about its loans. The decision has been appealed in court.

Read about all of the winners here.