Fatal Extraction exposed links between Australian mining companies, their practices in Africa and allegations of negligence, violence, environmental law-breaking and other behaviors that U.S. experts said would never be tolerated in the States.  It was the Center’s first interactive multimedia presentation of its kind, integrating experimental technology to create an immersive experience. The project combines video, data-driven graphics, audio, stills and text in a documentary-style narrative.

For the 2014 election cycle, state and federal money in politics teams at the Center sought to expose the powerful special interests that try to influence elections and policy.  While TV audiences across the country were bombarded with political ads, control of Congress hung in the balance;  the Center tracked the candidates, political committees and nonprofits spending large sums of cash on key U.S. Senate races. The Center built news applications to track TV ad spending in all state-level races and ballot initiatives and, at the national level, U.S. Senate races.

The Center’s ongoing project Criminalizing Kids examines the use of law enforcement and courts to respond to kids’ conduct at school. The series provides crucial context to this week’s news that a South Carolina school police officer, Brian Fields, was caught on camera violently tossing a black student out of her desk, dragging her across the floor and placing her in handcuffs. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has announced that Senior Deputy Ben Fields has been fired.

The Center’s most-recent investigation into school referrals to law enforcement nationwide was produced in collaboration with Reveal and highlighted the story of then sixth-grader Kayleb Moon-Robinson – who is diagnosed as autistic – and his experiences with a school resource officer and the court system in Virginia. The story was updated months later as Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe asked members of his cabinet to recommend policy changes.

Congratulations to all of the winners.