Recently in Investigative Reporting Category

Published: July 2, 2008

FIRST PLACE, 2009 Best of Ohio Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists (Print Newspapers, Circ. over 100,000)

Richard Cayman started as an account executive in late 2004, just as mortgage lender Novastar Financial was about to give back more than 30 percent returns to investors. The subprime lending spree had shifted into high gear.

Broken.pdf

Published: Oct. 2, 2008

FIRST PLACE, Best Public Service Journalism, 2009 Best of Ohio Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists (Print Newspapers, Circ. over 100,000)

A vote by the commissioners on the merits of a convention center/medical mart and its location could come by the end of October. If the final decision reflects the best interests of the region's taxpayers, it might just be a coincidence.

Conventional Wisdom.pdf

 

Published: Oct. 22, 2008

FIRST PLACE, Best Newsmaker Profile, 2009 Best of Ohio Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists (Print Newspapers, Circ. over 100,000)

At 31 years old, Bill Mason was already a rising star in local legal circles, an assistant county prosecutor known for his aggressiveness in the courtroom. But he still had a thing or two to learn about politics.

Read "Mason's Mean Machine" Online

SIDEBAR
Reform And Consent: When A Judge Tried To Address Drug Case Disparity, Mason Went Ballistic

Published: Feb. 7, 2007

The Death of Brandon McCloud: Part 2

FIRST PLACE, Best Community/Local Coverage, 2008 Excellence in Journalism Awards, Press Club of Cleveland (Non-daily Newspapers)

Dorothy had met special prosecutor Ellen Connally once before, and had found her genuinely interested in what Dorothy had to say. But sitting in the city prosecutor's office on June 7, 2006, Dorothy started to get the feeling that this meeting would be different. Connally had scheduled sessions with the families of four other men gunned down by police over 2004 and 2005. Dorothy watched as those who had gone in before her came out sobbing.

Within the Bounds of Law.pdf

Published: Jan. 31, 2007

The Death of Brandon McCloud: Part 1

FIRST PLACE, Best Community/Local Coverage, 2008 Excellence in Journalism Awards, Press Club of Cleveland (Non-daily Newspapers)

An ironing board blocked the only chair, so Brandon and Jamal, 15-year-old friends from middle school, probably sat on the mattress that dominated the small room when one of them started making phone calls. 

Suspect Down.pdf

Published: July 26, 2006

SECOND PLACE, Best Criminal Justice Reporting, 2007 Best of Ohio Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists

It was a February afternoon in 2005 when Valeria Ray found then-34-year-old Anton Billings at her door. Five-foot-nine and thin, Billings wore a suit and hat, and carried a briefcase. He wanted to know if Ray's 18-year-old son was all right. Billings said the boy's name had come up in gang circles at John F. Kennedy High School. 

Man of the Streets.pdf