Entries being accepted for investigative biz reporting contest

Entries are now being accepted 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 August 1, 2008, and judges will be looking for investigative enterprise, strong business theme, writing style and clarity and impact.

The annual awards were first given out in fall 2007 when reporters at The New York Times took the first-place prize of $5000 and reporters at The Sun in Baltimore were awarded the runner-up prize of $2,000. First place winners Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker later went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for the same series.

“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.”