Inquirer investigation into Philly school violence wins prize
The Philadelphia Inquirer's "Assault on Learning," a multimedia investigation of violence and unsafe learning conditions within Philadelphia public schools has earned the reporting team the inaugural Weiss Award for Investigative Journalism.
The seven-part series - and a series of follow-ups - spurred an overhaul of incident-reporting in the Philadelphia School District and prompted the hiring of a state-funded safe schools advocate.
The reporters - John Sullivan, Susan Snyder, Kristen A. Graham, Dylan Purcell, and Jeff Gammage - will share a $10,000 prize.
Winning a $2,500 prize for second place was former Inquirer City Hall reporter Patrick Kerkstra for "Deluge of Deadbeats," a series about Philadelphia's property tax delinquency epidemic that was copublished by the Inquirer and PlanPhilly.com.
Kerkstra's series, which judges called "a marvel of data research and comparative analysis," discovered that Philadelphia has the most tax-delinquent properties of any major city in the nation. After "Deluge of Deadbeats" was published, City Council introduced legislation modernizing the tax collection and foreclosure processes.
The prizes are funded by venture capitalist Larry Weiss and his wife Harriet. Larry Weiss is president of Hippographics Inc., a VC firm that primarily invests in graphic arts companies.
"We are fortunate to have many excellent investigative journalists working in our communities. The work they do is essential," Larry Weiss said in a statement. "The purpose of the Weiss Award is to encourage more of this kind of work."
The entries were judged by Shenid Bhayroo, assistant professor of journalism, Temple University; Charlotte Hall, retired reporter, the Orlando Sentinel and Newsday; and Eric Lipton, reporter, The New York Times.
Also awarded a prize was a team of reporters from Fox29 - Jeff Cole, Gary Scurka and Mark LaValla - for "Drinking Postal Workers," a hidden-camera investigation that revealed several uniformed postal workers drinking heavily at a bar while on the clock, and later attempting to drive their USPS trucks back to work.
The awards will be presented at an April 19 luncheon at WHYY in Philadelphia.
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