Winners
2024 winners for work published in 2023 are featured below.
Ages at time of story publication.
LOCAL REPORTING
Samantha Hogan, 30, of The Maine Monitor, for “Maine’s Part-Time Court,” a year-long investigation into the state’s illusive probate courts. Her reporting exposed stories of individuals whose life savings may have been pocketed by their conservators and revealed eight unexplained deaths of people who were under Maine’s state guardianship.
“Samantha Hogan’s multi-year investigation into an alarming lack of oversight within Maine’s probate courts is a shining example of local journalism at its finest. Her efforts were creative and meticulous: She conducted in-depth interviews with those in the probate system. She crafted and sent surveys to the probate courts. She dove into the research on alternative probate systems. And she submitted public records requests that ultimately revealed the suspicious deaths of eight people under the court’s guardianship. Samantha’s reporting catalyzed grassroots change and strengthened civic engagement and democracy.”
— Kara Swisher, Livingston Awards national judge
NATIONAL REPORTING
Allison Behringer, 33, and Lila Hassan, 28, of KCRW Public Radio for three episodes from Season Four of the podcast “Bodies.” Their stories explored early-onset puberty, postpartum psychosis and the fight for abortion training in a Post-Roe America through the lens of feminism, systemic discrimination and marginalization.
“I have done a lot of tough and dangerous reporting — interviewing warlords, trekking across deserts, dodging bullets in urban warfare. But years of experience have taught me that one of the hardest things to do is to get children to talk — openly, authentically and enthusiastically talk. Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan got kids to open up about some of the most intimate and private parts of their lives — their changing bodies. The “Bodies” episodes honored here are stories of huge social and political importance told in the most intimate and human ways. Innovative and first-rate journalism from start to finish.”
— Lydia Polgreen, Livingston Awards national judge
INTERNATIONAL REPORTING
Renata Brito, 31, of The Associated Press, for “Adrift/36 Days,” a visually-driven investigation that seamlessly weave together graphic illustrations, evocative imagery and powerful storytelling. Through meticulous detail, Brito reconstructs the journey of a boat discovered on Tobago’s coast, identifies its deceased passengers and humanizes the plight of migrants.
“Renata Brito’s investigation into a ‘ghost boat’ found in Trinidad and Tobago turned into a two-year cinematic investigation tracking the fatal journey for 43 Mauritanian migrants trying to make their way to the Canary Islands and ultimately Europe. Despite challenges in accessing information from different governments and not knowing who might have been on this boat, she persisted. The results brought closure to families who had previously been unable to declare their sons dead. Her investigation also spurred a wider look into the “ghost boat” phenomenon and resulted in Renata documenting another horrific journey of a boat at sea for 36 days and the deaths of 63 of the 101 migrants onboard.”
— Raney Aronson, Livingston Awards national judge
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