February 26, 2007
Updated November 2, 2015 12:57 p.m.
Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman of the Hartford Courant are the 2007 winners of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting for their series exposing the US military’s recruitment and deployment of mentally ill soldiers into Iraq.
The $35,000 annual prize, presented by the School of Journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication , recognizes the year’s outstanding work in investigative journalism that led to direct results.
Beginning in May 2006, the Courant published a series of articles detailing how “the U.S. military is sending troops with serious psychological problems into Iraq and is keeping soldiers in combat even after superiors have been alerted to suicide warnings and other signs of mental illness.”
“The Hartford reporters documented the tragic consequences, including suicides among unstable recruits,” wrote the award judges, citing the significance of the issue, the compelling manner in which it was presented, and impact of the reporting on changing military policies. “As a result of the Courant’s reporting, Congress has mandated new mental health screening for recruits and set limits on how long troubled soldiers can be required to stay in a war zone.”
“Even as news organizations adapt to the challenges of a volatile media landscape, the critical importance of good investigative reporting that holds our institutions accountable for policies and practices that harm the vulnerable in society will not diminish." said Michael Parks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of the Los Angeles Times who now serves as director of USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism . “The exceptional reporting by the Hartford Courant and the other finalists demonstrate the importance of the work and commitment by news organizations in protecting the public interest.”
In addition to the Hartford Courant, judges honored three other news organizations for their outstanding work, recognizing them as finalists for the 2007 Selden Ring Award:
- Bloomberg News for its series, “ Duping Main Street .” This reporting revealed how large financial institutions cooked up agreements to issue municipal bonds for public uses like affordable housing, then collected millions in fees without ever disbursing any money to local communities. Martin Z. Braun, David Dietz, Michael Marois, William Sellway, Christine Richard and Darrell Preston reported on this project.
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for reporter Meg Kissinger’s series “Abandoning Our Mentally Ill,” which reported on the abysmal housing provided for the poor who were mentally ill. The series prompted new state and local regulations and funding to improve housing for the mentally ill.
- The Seattle Times for “Your Courts, Their Secrets.” The series documented how judges improperly sealed hundreds of civil court cases in Washington state’s largest county. The reporting has opened the court files to the public and led judges to end the practice of routinely sealing cases. Ken Armstrong, Justin Mayo, and Steve Miletich reported this work.
"While major metro dailies again did exceptional reporting, the work by regional leaders, such as the Hartford Courant, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Seattle Times, along with Bloomberg was equally impressive. In addition, there were good entries by alternative weeklies from half a dozen cities. Investigative reporting is one of the most serious responsibilities that American journalists have, and this year's Selden Ring entries show that news organizations, large and small, take it seriously," said Parks.
In April, Chedekel and Kauffman will come to Los Angeles for the award presentation, meet with students, and participate in a symposium on investigative journalism.
More about the Selden Ring Award
Visit the Hartford Courant's web page for the series
Read the release
