The Gerald Loeb Awards
THE GERALD LOEB AWARDS
2005 WINNERS
* Lifetime Achievement Award
Public Editor
* Lawrence Minard Editor Award
Assistant Managing Editor
* Business Story, Large Newspaper (circulation of more than 400,000)
Walt Bogdanich
The New York Times
Analysis of database records, court records and human stories that show malfeasance on the part of railroads and failure by the government to regulate them.
* Business Story, Medium Newspaper (circulation of 150,000 to 400,000)
"Danger Overhead: Crushed Roofs" (Parts 1, 2, 3)
Bill Vlasic and Jeff Plungis
The Detroit News
Series that examines a little-known auto safety hazard -- roofs that fail in rollover accidents, causing deaths.
* Business Story, Small Newspaper (circulation of less than 150,000)
"The China Challenge" (Stories 1, 2, 3, 4)
Craig Troianello
The Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic
Four stories by two smaller newspapers that tell the significance and consequence of global trade in their communities.
* Business Story, Magazine (Two winners)
Charles Fishman
Fast Company
Explanation of the new wave of automation and machinery that's changing how business gets done.
"Why We're Losing the War on Cancer (and How to Win It)"
Clifton Leaf
FORTUNE
Story shedding new light on why cancer research has not made more progress toward finding a cure.
* Business Story, News or Online Service
Carol S. Remond
Dow Jones Newswires
Analysis of the small-cap world, exposing shenanigans of three small companies that unscrupulously pumped up their stocks.
* Business Commentary
"Cracks in Fannie Mae's Foundation"
Peter Eavis
TheStreet.com
Coverage of Fannie Mae's accounting troubles long before any findings of wrongdoing were raised, even telling federal regulators where to look for areas of concern.
* Business Deadline Writing
Andrew Ross Sorkin, Steve Lohr, David Barboza, Gary Rivlin and John Markoff
The New York Times
Stories covering the IBM-Lenovo deal, from a scoop that IBM planned to sell its PC business to analysis of China's rise as a world economic super power.
* Business Beat Writing
"The Short Life of 'Lifetime' Health-Care Benefits"
Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis
The Wall Street Journal
Coverage that revelaed an incentive in accounting rules for companies to terminate health care plans even when costs are flat or declining.
* Business Story, Television Deadline
Chris Cuomo, Shelley Ross, Bob Lange, Thomas Berman and Jack Pyle
ABC News: Primetime
An examination of a California family's experience with unpaid health care bills and a small family business whose health insurance provider reneged on paying the medical bills.
2005 Finalists
* Business Story, Large Newspaper (circulation of more than 400,000)
* Business Story, Medium Newspaper (circulation of 150,000 to 400,000)
* Business Story, Small Newspaper (circulation of less than 150,000)
* Business Story, Magazine
* Business Story, News or Online Service
* Business Commentary
* Business Deadline Writing
* Business Beat Writing
* Business Story, Television Deadline
2004 WINNERS
* Lifetime Achievement Award
Economic Commentator, Financial Adviser and Host of "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street"
* Lawrence Minard Editor Award
Senior Editor, Financial Investigative Projects
* Business Story, Large Newspaper (circulation of more than 400,000)
David B. Ottaway and Joe Stephens
The Washington Post
Investigative series on an environmental nonprofit's questionable business dealings, sparking a Congressional investigation.
* Business Story, Medium Newspaper (circulation of 150,000 to 400,000)
Fred Schulte
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
In-depth stories that exposed how a group of doctors prescribed large amounts of narcotic painkillers to low-income people on Medicaid.
* Business Story, Small Newspaper (circulation of less than 150,000)
Kate Long
The Charleston Gazette
Close look at growing numbers of employed middle-class workers who can no longer afford health insurance.
* Business Story, Magazine
"Is Your Job Next/The Rise of India"
Aaron Bernstein, Pete Engardio and Manjeet Kripalani
BusinessWeek
Stories exploring the outsourcing debate, covering the economic and political impacts on both businesses and workers.
* Business Story, News or Online Service
Adrian Cox, David Evans and Abhay Singh
Bloomberg News
In-depth look at the risky world and fallout of high-stakes trading.
Chris Adams and Alison Young
Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
Investigative series on extent of off-label prescribing of drugs and its sometimes-lethal consequences.
* Business Commentary
Michael Hiltzik
The Los Angeles Times
Regular columns on a wide range of business and economic issues relevant to life in California.
* Business Deadline Writing
"The Day Grasso Quit as NYSE Chief"
Susanne Craig, Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, Theo Francis and Kate Kelly
The Wall Street Journal
Stories covering the departure of NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso and the ensuing controversy over his $140 million pay package.
* Business Beat Writing
"A Spotlight on Boeing's Legal and Ethical Scandals"
J. Lynn Lunsford, Andy Pasztor and Anne Marie Squeo
The Wall Street Journal
Stories covering the government probes and investigations of Boeing, sometimes widening those investigations as a result.
* Business Story, Television (short form)
Doug Adams, Christiana Arvetis, Donna Bass, Steve Capus, Joo Lee, Karen Nye, Albert Oetgen, Felicia Patinkin, John Reiss, Charles Schaeffer, Nikki Stamos and Anne Thompson
NBC Nightly News
An examination of millions of unemployed Americans, from college students to white-collar workers.
* Business Story, Television (long form)
Rome Hartman and Lesley Stahl
CBS News "60 Minutes"
Broadcast investigation on Indian college graduates abandoning their country to serve as top executives for Blue Chip American companies.
2004 Finalists
* Business Story, Large Newspaper (circulation of more than 400,000)
* Business Story, Medium Newspaper (circulation of 150,000 to 400,000)
* Business Story, Small Newspaper (circulation of less than 150,000)
* Business Story, Magazine
* Business Story, News or Online Service
* Business Commentary
* Business Deadline Writing
* Business Beat Writing
* Business Story, Television (short form)
* Business Story, Television (long form)
2003 WINNERS
* Lifetime Achievement Award
Chief Financial Correspondent
* Lawrence Minard Editor Award
Business Editor
The New York Times
* Business Story, Large Newspaper (circulation of more than 400,000)
Alec Klein
The Washington Post
Investigative series on AOL's business practices in coverage that sparked investigations of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department.
* Business Story, Medium Newspaper (circulation of 150,000 to 400,000)
Deborah O'Neil and Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
In-depth look at the effect members of a local scientology church had on a dot-com-era telecommunications company.
* Business Story, Small Newspaper (circulation of less than 150,000)
Eric Eyre and Scott Finn
The Charleston Gazette
Close study of contracting deals between the state's school systems and companies owned by or partnering with a state education official's college buddy.
* Business Story, Magazine
"Nationalities of Convenience"
Hal Lux
Institutional Investor
Story on companies that decide to reincorporate in other countries to avoid paying taxes on income earned overseas.
* Business Story, News or Online Service
Jon D. Markman
CNBC on MSN Money
A close-up look at the trend of investing billions of dollars in the S&P 500 index, which has actually proved to be a poorly managed fund.
* Business Commentary
Jerry Flint
Forbes Magazine
Regular columns on the ins and outs of the auto industry.
* Business Deadline Writing
"WorldCom's Whirlwind Demise"
Rebecca Blumenstein, Gregory Zuckerman, Jared Sandberg, Shawn Young, Susan Pulliam, Deborah Solomon and Carrick Mollenkamp
The Wall Street Journal
Stories covering the fallout from WorldCom's announcement that it counted $3.8 billion in accounting errors.
* Business Beat Writing
"Inside the SEC"
Stephen Labaton
The New York Times
Stories that revealed the highs and lows of the chairmanship and its owner, Harvey L. Pitt, of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
* Business Story, Television (short form)
"Enron Investigation"
Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz, Chris Vlasto, Jill Rackmill, David Scott, Gerilyn Curtin and Simon Surowicz
ABC News
Broadcast reports of fraud and impropriety that Enron Corp. executives committed even after they learned of the federal investigation into their activities.
* Business Story, Television (long form)
"La Oroya, City of Lead"
Craig Cheatham, Mark Hadler and Andrea Torrence
KMOV-TV
Story profiling a small Peruvian community that says it's suffering from lead poisoning from a local plant owned by a St. Louis-based manufacturer.
2003 Finalists