IndyStar’s two largest investigative initiatives of 2020 have each been named among the many six finalists in investigative reporting for the annual prestigious Goldsmith Prize.
The awards, offered by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, “honors one of the best public service investigative journalism that has made an affect on native, state, or federal public coverage or the observe of politics within the United States.”
IndyStar’s two finalists are: “Careless” — an 18-month-long examination by investigative reporters Tony Cook, Tim Evans and Emily Hopkins into the state’s nursing properties; and “Mauled: When Police Dogs are Weapons” — a joint mission with The Marshall Project, AL.com and Invisible Institute that scrutinized the usage of police canines and featured work by IndyStar investigative reporter Ryan Martin and visuals journalist Mykal McEldowney.
“Mauled” was beforehand named one in every of three finalists for the Scripps Howard award for worldwide and nationwide investigations. “Careless” was beforehand named one in every of 10 finalists within the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation’s awards for journalism and analysis. “Careless,” which additionally featured work by IndyStar visible journalists McEldowney, Jenna Watson, Robert Scheer and Kelly Wilkinson, beforehand won an EPPY Award from Editor and Publisher Magazine for “Best Investigative/Enterprise Feature.”
“It’s past gratifying to see the work of our journalists proceed to be honored on a nationwide stage,” stated Alvie Lindsay, IndyStar’s information and investigations director. “We have had fairly a run over the previous few years, together with with our protection of USA Gymnastics, of offering investigative journalism on the highest stage.
“We are that rather more impressed to proceed to do work that holds public officers and people in energy accountable and, extra importantly, betters the lives of the folks in our group.”
More about ‘Careless’
The “Careless” investigation uncovered how authorities officers in Indiana took tens of millions of {dollars} in federal nursing residence funds and used it as a substitute to pad the underside strains of hospitals. Indiana receives extra of those enhanced funds than another state, but ranked forty eighth within the nation for common nursing residence employees even earlier than the pandemic.
The collection uncovered for the primary time how greater than 20 county hospitals throughout the state purchased up practically all of Indiana’s nursing properties, then exploited free guidelines and lax oversight to divert a minimum of $1 billion in Medicaid funds from these properties. The precise quantity might be as a lot as $3 billion, however many of the county hospitals refuse to reveal how a lot nursing residence cash they’ve diverted.
The observe left Hoosiers with a number of the worst nursing properties in America because the COVID-19 pandemic struck and contributed to a whole bunch of deaths that seemingly might have been prevented with higher staffing.
To full the story, IndyStar reporters filed greater than 60 public information requests, analyzed years of federal nursing residence information, and scoured 1000’s of pages of nursing residence inspection reviews, wrongful loss of life claims and court docket filings. They additionally spoke with dozens of relations whose family members had suffered in harmful amenities.
The collection led to the resignation of the chief of Marion County’s public hospital system. In December, Gov. Eric Holcomb pledged to overtake the state’s elder care system.
More about ‘Mauled’
As a part of the “Mauled” mission, a first-of-its form examination of the usage of canines at police departments confirmed that IMPD had the best charge of canine bites amongst police departments within the nation’s 20 largest cities.
Martin additionally examined a whole bunch of police division use-of-force reviews, court docket information and civil fits. The outcomes of that unprecedented effort revealed some astonishing information:
Some cities noticed one police canine chunk over a three-year interval. In Indianapolis, it was as soon as each 5 days.
Nearly 60% of people that had been bitten in Indianapolis have been suspected in solely low-level and non-violent crimes or site visitors infractions. At least 65% of these bitten have been unarmed and didn’t act violently.
More than half of the individuals who have been bitten are Black, a disproportionately excessive quantity for a inhabitants that makes up simply 28% of the town. Also, 15% of individuals bitten have been youthful than 18 — and three-fourths of the juveniles have been Black.
The investigation additionally revealed that someday police canine chunk the improper folks completely, akin to cops at against the law scene or harmless bystanders in a neighborhood.
The 4 different finalists for the Goldsmith Prize are: “Mississippi’s Dangerous and Dysfunctional Penal System,” a collaboration by The Marshall Project, Mississippi Today, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, Jackson Clarion-Ledger and the USA TODAY Network; “American Injustice” by Reuters; “Restoring Health Care for Pacific Islanders After Decades of Unfilled Promises.” POLITICO; and “Targeted,” by the Tampa Bay Times.
All six finalists obtain $10,000 awarded to the journalists. The winner, which will probably be introduced April 13, receives $25,000.
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