Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism

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The 2009 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism was awarded to Raquel Rutledge from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on March 4, I hate to break it to the editors but the “Cashing in on Kids” series, did not come out of the editors’ office. It actually started with a tip from a reader
- Raquel Rutledge
2010. The event featured a presentation by Rutledge, who described the meticulous, in-depth research necessary to produce her yearlong series on child-care fraud in Wisconsin, “Cashing in on Kids.” Soon after receiving the Bingham Prize, Rutledge went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in the local reporting category for the same series.

Judges for the 2009 award were Audra Ang, a correspondent for The Associated Press based in Beijing and a 2010 Nieman Fellow; James Asher, investigative editor for The McClatchy Company in Washington, D.C.; and Amy Nutt, a staff writer for The Star-Ledger in New Jersey and a 2005 Nieman Fellow. Two additional 2010 Nieman Fellows, Beth Macy, a families beat reporter for The Roanoke Times, and Lisa Mullins, anchor/senior producer for Public Radio International’s “The World” assisted the judges in the selection process

The Bingham Prize honors exceptional reporting of stories of national significance where the public interest is being ill-served. Established in 1967 by Worth Bingham’s family and friends, the annual prize has been administered and presented by the Nieman Foundation since 2008 and includes a cash award of $20,000. The award honors the memory of Worth Bingham, a 1954 Harvard College graduate who achieved prominence as an investigative journalist and was active in numerous civic endeavors before his death in 1966.

The generous support of Joan and Clara Bingham, Worth Bingham’s wife and daughter, makes the annual Worth Bingham Prize possible.