Atlanta paper, AP, Fortune's Loomis winners of Loeb Awards

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution won a Loeb award on Monday for its series on Georgia’s notoriously anti-consumer lending laws, according to an Associated Press report. The Loebs, which are the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in business journalism, were announced at a dinner in New York Monday night.

The AP reported that Atlanta reporters Ann Hardie, Carrie Teegardin and Alan Judd won for “Borrower Beware,” which documented links between state lawmakers, regulators and the lending and auto industry. The series also revealed that the state often blamed consumers for the unscrupulous tactics to which they fell prey.

In the news services or online content category, Frank Bass, Dirk Lammers and Larry Margasak of The Associated Press won for “LAX Loans.” The story examined government loans that were meant to help businesses in New York City following the 2001 terrorist attacks but found that much of the financing went to companies nationwide.

In beat reporting, Geeta Anand of The Wall Street Journal won for “The Most Expensive Drugs and How They Came to Be,” about hidden truths in the drug industry, including how lawmakers create legal monopolies that send prices higher.

James Stewart’s “DisneyWar” won the best book award, which is a new category this year. In the magazine category, Fortune’s Carol Loomis won for a cover story on the Hewlett-Packard ouster of former CEO Carly Fiorina.

The Loeb awards are the highest honor in business journalism and have been presented for 33 years by Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. They are named for Gerald Loeb, a financier and founding partner of E.F. Hutton.

For a list of all of the winners, go here.