Two investigative projects produced by the Center for Public Integrity, including one by its International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), were honored for journalistic excellence Monday by the Scripps Howard Foundation.
The ICIJ won the William Brewster Styles Award for Business/Economics Reporting for Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze. That first place honor, carrying a $10,000 prize, recognized a succession of reports built upon more than 2.5 million leaked files.
In one of the largest collaborations in journalism, the massive ICIJ project took 18 months to complete, and resulted in more than 50 stories involving 112 journalists in 58 nations. Those reports revealed more than 120,000 names and companies in a hidden parallel economy of offshore tax havens, prompting multiple international tax investigations.
The other Center investigation honored was Toxic Clout, a year-long series of stories exploring conflicts in the world of chemical science. The project, written by David Heath, Ronnie Greene, Jim Morris and Chris Hamby, was a finalist for the Edward J. Meeman Award for Environmental Reporting.
The top environmental reporting prize went to The Seattle Times.
Other winners of the Scripps Howard Awards announced Monday included The Guardian US for Public Service Reporting for “The NSA Files.”
“The Center for Public Integrity is truly honored to have two of its major investigative projects honored by the Scripps Howard Foundation,” said William Buzenberg, the Center’s executive director.
“This important work on the growing use of global tax havens, and the lack of regulation of dangerous toxic chemicals in our environment, are representative of the depth and excellence in our most compelling work.”
Established in 1953, the Scripps Howard Foundation’s awards recognize outstanding print, broadcast and online journalism in 15 categories. The winners will be honored at a May 22 dinner in Cincinnati.
See the full list of Scripps Howard Awards winners, and congratulations to all winners and finalists.