Alumna Allison Riggio and Student Hunter Clauss Recognized for Report on City Corruption
(CHICAGO, IL) Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., (IRE) recognizes the most outstanding watchdog journalism each year. IRE Medals, the top honor bestowed by the organization, are generally garnered by veteran investigative reporters from such respected publications as The Washington Post and The New York Times. The IRE also awards certificates for outstanding work in smaller markets; only one award in the student category is given.
The IRE 2007 student achievement certificate was awarded to two young Columbia College Chicago journalists: Allison Riggio (’07) and Hunter Clauss, a current student.
The pair teamed up during Suzanne McBride’s Investigative Journalism class during Fall term 2006 to work on a story about the nepotistic hiring practices of Chicago Aldermen. The story grew, becoming a 6-month independent study project that ultimately was co-published by the Journalism Department’s creatingcommunityconnections.org initiative and The Beachwood Reporter. (See http://www.beachwoodreporter.com/politics/post_12.php )
To research “Public Payroll, Family Affairs: Aldermen Keep It Relative,” Riggio and Clauss used public records requests and numerous phone calls to identify relatives of city council members on the public payroll. Persistence and aggressiveness overcame the obstacle of not being taken seriously by some sources.
“This was not an easy project to tackle. Some sources wouldn't call Allison and me back,” explains Clauss. “So we had to call them every hour of every day for weeks just to get an interview. But we kept at it and it's nice to know it paid off. Working on this project was a blast. Suzanne is an excellent professor and it was a pleasure working with her. Her investigative journalism class really got me interested in Chicago politics. It essentially made me a nerd for local politics and I encourage any Columbia students interested in investigative journalism to take her class. I also encourage all students to go to city council meetings and become familiar with how the city operates.”
“I'm thrilled to receive such an honor for work that began as a project with Suzanne McBride's Investigative Journalism class. When our semester came to a close it seemed as though we had only seen the tip of the "nepotism" iceberg,” says Riggio. “With Suzanne's guidance and encouragement we were able to attack this issue full-force. I feel this award has further helped us shed light on a topic that usually falls on deaf ears. In a city the size of Chicago, it's often hard to find anyone to really care about corruption unless it affects them directly. It is not our job to say what is right or wrong, ethical or unethical; however, it is my hope that our work will inspire readers to make those decisions on their own.”
“Each of the award winning projects highlights the crucial impact that the best investigative reporting can have,” said IRE Executive Director Mark Horvit. “Lives were changed, injustices were eliminated and dangerous threats to public safety were removed as a result of this work.”
Contest entries are screened and judged by IRE members, who are working journalists. This year, judges considered more than IRE, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting journalists who pursue investigative stories and operates the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism. The contest, which began in 1979, considers entries in 15 categories and a range of market sizes. Judges reviewed 530 entries for the 2007 awards.
The IRE awards will be presented at a luncheon on Saturday, June 7, at the 2008 IRE Conference in Miami. Allison and Hunter will be there to collect their certificates – and to network with some of the best investigative reporters working in media today.
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