Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Los Angeles Times Entry Title: Fumed Out Entry Credit: Kiera Feldman Judge Comment: The Times exposed a terrifyingly widespread problem that you've probably never heard about. The industry's response to the "tobacco and asbestos of aviation" is especially galling, and the reporters laid bare the inconsistencies of the industry's arguments, cutting them down through the use of public records and internal documents that show the industry's feeble attempts to have its cake and eat it too. Exceptionally well reported, presented and written. A clear winner.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Los Angeles Times Entry Title: A Gruesome Betrayal Entry Credit: Paul Pringle, Alene Tchekmedyian, David Pierson Judge Comment: Gruesome, disgusting and shocking - the tale of how Marc Ching built his animal activist nonprofit is antithetical to the persona he built. Through dogged reporting across multiple continents, the Times exposed Ching as the conman he is. While the butchers' stories should have been enough to bury Ching's organization, the Times didn't stop there. Reporters dug into this financial dealings and sham veterinary practices to serve up an angle prosecutors couldn't ignore. Kudos to the Times for exposing this fraud.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: San Francisco Chronicle Entry Title: San Francisco Chronicle: The Suspect Next Door Entry Credit: Matthias Gafni, Judge Comment: A compellingly told story about one man, a kid really, that illustrates the larger problem of false confessions from the developmentally disabled and police's inability to admit or even consider that they were wrong. This piece did what prosecutors have failed or refused to do - it showed Michael Alexander was innocent. I can only imagine what this piece means for Alexander and his family - while the Chronicle couldn't give him back the more than three years he spent in jail, clearing his name is the next best thing.
Place Name: Fourth Place Contestant Name: Los Angeles Times Entry Title: Deadly Delays Entry Credit: Jack Dolan, Brittny Mejia Judge Comment: None
Place Name: Fifth Place Contestant Name: San Francisco Chronicle Entry Title: San Francisco Chronicle: Far from Home, Far from Safe Entry Credit: Joaquin Palomino, Cynthia Dizikes, Sara Tiano Judge Comment: None
