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LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY, Sept. 13, 2008 — A New York Times series about deadly Chinese counterfeit drugs sold around the world and a TV4 Sweden investigation into Russian overfishing in the Barents Sea have won the first Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting. Formerly the ICIJ Award, the prize was renamed this year in honor of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was slain by militants in Pakistan in 2002.

 

The award and a total of $25,000 in prize money, given for work during 2006-07, is unique among journalism prizes worldwide in that it was created specifically to honor cross-border investigative reporting. It is presented by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a project of the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C. The competition attracted 86 entries from 24 countries, involving reporting in more than 60 countries.

 

“The Center for Public Integrity believes the Daniel Pearl Award epitomizes the very best in the extremely difficult work of international investigative journalism,” said Center Executive Director Bill Buzenberg. “We are also honored to pay tribute to the memory of an exceptional reporter in recognizing this year’s excellent winners and finalists.”

 

In their New York Times series “A Toxic Pipeline,” Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker exposed a worldwide pipeline of Chinese consumer products containing toxic, sometimes deadly, chemical additives. The Pearl Award judges hailed the series as “an investigative tour de force.” Bogdanich and Hooker visited counterfeit factories in rural China and free trade zones in Dubai; inspected public and private records from four continents; and uncovered critical FDA documents. In Panama alone, the investigation revealed how more than 100 people had died after consuming medicine imported from China that contained diethylene glycol.

 

Following publication of the series, more than 30 countries, including the United States, recalled the toothpaste that had been made with diethylene glycol. Bogdanich and Hooker’s investigation also applied pressure on the Chinese government to crack down on abuses in the drug industry.

 

In their TV4 Sweden investigation “The Illegal CodJoachim Dyfvermark and Fredrik Laurin revealed how Russian trawlers, aided by Western food companies, have systematically overfished their quotas of cod in the Barents Sea, home to the world’s last population of healthy cod. The judges were particularly impressed with the investigative techniques used by Dyfvermark and Laurin to trace some 100 cod products from Swedish supermarket shelves back to the actual vessels that poached the fish. The reporters followed the trail through retailers, distributors, and wholesalers as far away as China, documenting that as much as 100,000 tons of cod had been illegally fished. ,”

 

After broadcast of the two-part documentary, nearly all of the Swedish retail-companies named in the report halted their sales of frozen cod. Following a decision by the European Union, several countries also committed to sharing data so that more accurate statistics on cod catch can be made.

 

A five-judge panel of international journalists awarded Bogdanich and Hooker the $10,000 prize for the best investigation by a U.S.-based medium. Dyfvermark and Laurin were awarded the $10,000 prize for the best investigation by an international medium. The winners were announced at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Lillehammer, Norway.

 

At their discretion, the judges also awarded a $2,000 special citation to freelancer Loretta Tofani for her Salt Lake Tribune series “American Imports, Chinese Deaths.”Through dozens of interviews made in five trips to China and analysis of thousands of medical, shipping, and customs records, Tofani thoroughly documented an epidemic of fatal occupational diseases among Chinese workers who manufacture cheap U.S. imports.

 

Four entries were awarded $1,000 finalist prizes. The finalists for the Daniel Pearl Award are:

 

·         Michael Kranish, Peter S. Canellos, Farah Stockman, Kevin Baron, Susan Milligan, Rick Klein, and Charlie Savage of The Boston Globe for their series “Exporting Faith.”The investigation provided the first-ever statistical picture of the extent of religious involvement in U.S. foreign aid, paired with powerful reporting from Kenya, Angola, and Pakistan.

 

·         Andrew O. Selsky of The Associated Press for “Guantanamo Detainees.” Through reporting that spanned 17 countries, Selsky tracked down information about 245 former detainees at Guantanamo, piecing together their lives around the world. Among his findings: that despite U.S. claims about the dangers posed by the men, the countries to which they were sent — many of them U.S. allies — had routinely set them free.

 

·         Sven Bergman, Joachim Dyfvermark, and Fredrik Laurin of SVT-Swedish Television for “Gripen — the Secret DealsThrough reporting in five countries, the reporters uncovered a pattern of bribery and secret contracts that landed Sweden’s biggest arms manufacturer, SAAB, a billion-dollar fighter-jet contract in the Czech Republic. The report helped spark investigations in eight countries. .”

 

·         Gregory L. White, David Crawford, Glenn R. Simpson, Alan Cullison, and James Bandler of The Wall Street Journal for “Putin’s Russia.” In a series of articles reported in Washington, London, New York, Frankfurt, and the British Virgin Islands, The Journal offered a revealing look at the brass-knuckles intersection of money, power, and politics in the new Russia.

 

Selections were made by a distinguished international panel of five judges: Sheila Coronel, director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Columbia University, and cofounder, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism; Nigerian journalist Sunday Dare, Hausa Service director, Voice of America; Douglas Farah, consultant and former Washington Post foreign correspondent; Fernando Rodriguez, senior reporter for the Brazilian daily Folha de S.Paulo; and David E. Kaplan, director, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

 

Formerly the ICIJ Award, the Pearl Award honors the memory of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The JournalDaniel Pearl Foundation. For more on the investigation of who murdered him, visit The Pearl Project. ’s enterprising South Asia bureau chief, Pearl was investigating Al Qaeda in Pakistan in January 2002 when he was kidnapped and subsequently murdered. To learn more about Pearl’s life, visit the

 

Any professional journalist or team of journalists of any nationality working in print, broadcast, or online media may apply for the award. In keeping with the transnational emphasis of the award, eligible investigations must involve reporting in at least two countries. For more details on how to apply for the award, please visit our website.

 

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The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was launched in 1997 as a project of the Center for Public Integrity to globally extend the Center’s investigative style of journalism in the public interest. ICIJ’s global network includes nearly 100 of the world’s top investigative reporters who produce collaborative, cross-border reports on major global issues around the world.

 

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan independent Washington, D.C.-based organization that does investigative reporting and research on significant public issues. Since 1990, the Center has released more than 400 investigative reports and 17 books. It has received the prestigious George Polk Award and more than 22 other national journalism awards and 16 finalist nominations from national organizations, including PEN USA and Investigative Reporters and Editors. In April 2006, the Society of Professional Journalists recognized the Center with a national award for excellence in online public service journalism for the fifth consecutive year. In October 2006, the Center was honored with the Online News Association’s coveted General Excellence Award. In March 2007, the Center was given a special citation for the body of its investigative work from the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.