IRE Medals given to two works in business journalism

Investigative Reporters and Editors has bestowed the IRE Medal, its highest honor, to two works of business journalism.

The first went to “Seafood from Slaves” from Associated Press reporters Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza and Esther Htusan. View this story online

The judges noted, “AP reporters discovered an island home to thousands of enslaved laborers at work in Thailand’s multi-billion-dollar seafood export industry. Not content to merely document the plight of these workers, the AP traced the fruits of this slave labor all the way to the seafood counters in U.S. cities.

“This innovative approach to bringing the faraway story home to U.S. readers and its powerful use of multimedia storytelling made this piece the most innovative of the year, worthy of the Gannett Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism. Judges awarded it an IRE Medal for its moving execution and life-changing results. For years, industry had insisted conditions had improved, and AP’s story proved conclusively that thousands of laborers remained trapped in modern slavery. This project helped lead to freedom for approximately 2,000 slaves.”

The second went to “Insult to Injury: America’s Vanishing Worker Protections,”  by ProPublica and National Public Radio. The reporters were Michael Grabell (ProPublica), Howard Berkes (NPR), Lena Groeger (ProPublica), Yue Qiu (ProPublica) and Sisi Wei (ProPublica). View story from ProPublica and NPR

The judges wrote, “This project masterfully details how states across the nation have dismantled their workers’ comp programs, cutting benefits and sticking taxpayers with a growing bill for injured workers. Tackling an often overlooked topic, the reporters built databases tracking legislative changes in each state over the past dozen years, obtained benefit plans from some of the country’s largest companies and combed through thousands of pages of depositions.

“They used heartbreaking stories and interactive tools to present complex material in an elegant way. Their work paid off in legislative changes in several states, investigations and a wider discussion about needed changes. We are awarding this project an IRE Medal for its wide impact and its fresh approach to showing how employers continue to benefit at the expense of workers.”

To see all of the winners, go here.