The Democrat and Chronicle won third place in the 2024 Collier Award for State Government Accountability for its coverage of the powerful Buffalo blizzard that killed nearly 50 people 16 months ago.
“Abandoned,” which reported on government flaws before and during the December 2022 snowstorm, won the award. Based on a review of thousands of pages of documents and numerous interviews, the story of July 2023 is told through the story of a young woman named Taylor, who was trapped in a car and died.
This article was researched and written by New York state health reporter David Robinson and Wilmington, Delaware-based features and business reporter Matthew Korfhage. The third place prize of $2,500 will be divided among reporters.
A news release from the Collier Awards states that the Texas Tribune, ProPublica, Frontline won the award, a Collier Prize news release said.
Public Health Watch and several partner organizations won second place for “Toxic Texas Air.”
more:How the response to Buffalo's devastating storm failed a woman's life and death
“Now in its fifth year, the Collier Prize is one of the largest journalism awards and is designed to encourage coverage of state government, with an emphasis on investigative and political reporting.” Collier Prize stated in the news release. “The award, presented by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication (UFCJC) and funded by Nathan S. Collier, will be presented at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on April 27.”
“We are thrilled to recognize this important and impactful investigative reporting at the state level,” said Nathan Collier, who created and funded the five-year-old Collier Awards program. “This is exactly why I wanted to fund this award, to encourage this kind of critical reporting, which I hope will ensure the continued accountability of state legislators.” ”
“The articles written by these news organizations and all of the Collier Award applicants demonstrate the need for continued scrutiny of state government operations,” said Hub Brown, dean of the University of Florida's School of Journalism and Communication. Ta. “Thank you to Nathan Collier for providing funding to recognize this great journalism, especially at a time when many news organizations have been forced to retreat from state government reporting.”
