WSJ reporters win econ reporting prize

A group of 15 reporters at The Wall Street Journal have won the Institute on Political Journalism’s prestigious Excellence in Economic Reporting Award for 2009.  Their 10 articles described the turning points to last fall’s Wall Street crash and the ensuing global credit crunch.

The team will be awarded $10,000, one of the largest prizes in journalism, and a bronze eagle-head statue crafted by the late Jeff MacNelly, famous political cartoonist.

This annual award normally goes to an individual or small group of reporters who craft a specific series of articles demonstrating the working of one area of business and markets.  However the judges found that the scope and drama of the credit crisis warranted the small army of reporters that was deployed by the Journal editors. Â

“Their coverage was detailed, dramatic, precise and contained too many revelations to count,” said Rich Thomas, retired Newsweek reporter, who chaired the judges panel.  The other judges were Mike Ruby, former editor of U.S. News and World Report, and John Merline, former Washington bureau chief of Investor’s Business Daily and USA Today editorial writer.

Reporters authoring or co-authoring one or more of the articles were Kara Scannell, Susanne Craig, Carrick Mollenkamp, Serena Ng, Aaron Lucchetti, Deborah Solomon, Dennis K. Berman, Jon Hilsenrath, Damian Paletta, Mark Whitehouse, Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, E.S. Browning, David Enrich, Jeffrey McCracken, and Kate Kelly.

The WSJ was picked from more than 50 other entries.