Deadline nears for investigative business journalism contest

The entry deadline approaches for the second annual Barlett and Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.

Named for the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning investigative business journalist team of Don Barlett and Jim Steele, these awards, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, celebrate the best in print and online investigative business journalism.

Entries must have appeared between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008. The submission deadline is Aug. 1, 2008, and judges will be looking for investigative enterprise, strong business theme, writing style and clarity and impact.

The annual contest, which awards a first-place prize of $5,000 and a runner-up prize of $2,000, was first held in the fall of 2007.

“The strong response and high quality of entries received in the initial year of these awards indicated investigative business journalism can be a powerful force in newsrooms of all sizes,” said Andrew Leckey, director of the Reynolds Center located at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. “We’re delighted to continue these awards that bear the names of Barlett & Steele, the standard in the field.”