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A Charlotte Observer investigation into the multibillion-dollar poultry industry has received one of the country's most prestigious awards from the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
The ASNE will announce today that “The Cruelest Cuts” – reported by staffers Ames Alexander, Kerry Hall, Franco Ordoñez, Ted Mellnik and Peter St. Onge – took first place in the Local Accountability Reporting category.
“The Cruelest Cuts” – which also was produced by more than a dozen editors, photographers, designers and others – told readers how N.C.-based House of Raeford Farms illustrated problems rampant in the poultry industry. The investigation showed how the company blocked some injured workers from seeing doctors and hauled others back to work hours after surgery for broken bones and severed fingers.
Most of those workers were immigrants who were reluctant to complain for fear of being deported or fired. Observer reporters interviewed more than 200 current and former workers for the investigation.
“The Observer's project revealed the difficult world of the poultry plant through excellent writing and determined reporting,” said judge Peter Bhatia, executive editor of The Oregonian in Portland and a former president of ASNE.
“It is a superb example of the revelatory reporting that is unique to newspapers and vital to our society.”
Less than a week after “The Cruelest Cuts” was published, federal lawmakers called for hearings to address issues the series raised. The federal Government Accountability Office is now studying whether regulators are doing enough to crack down on companies that try to hide workplace injuries, and lawmakers have added staffing at the N.C. Labor Department.
“Newspapers can step in and give people a voice when other institutions have failed,” said Observer Editor Rick Thames. “The poultry industry didn't police itself on the abuse of these workers. State agencies in North and South Carolina also failed them. This team of Observer journalists called out the problem, and we are very proud of their work. Hopefully, this reporting will lead to safer workplaces for all workers in our state.”
The Observer will receive the award at the ASNE convention April 27 in Chicago, and the “Cruelest Cuts” stories will appear in “Best Newspaper Writing 2009,” the annual compilation of ASNE-winning work published by the Poynter Institute of St. Petersburg, Fla.
