The Washington Post and KGTV ABC 10News have won the National Press Foundation’s 2024 AARP Awards for Excellence in Journalism on Aging for the large and small categories, respectively.
For The Washington Post, Christopher Rowland, Douglas MacMillan, Peter Whoriskey, Todd Frankel, Yeganeh Torbati, Julie Zauzmer Weil and Steven Rich created the Memory Inc. series, which investigated deaths at assisted living facilities, which – unlike nursing homes – are not federally regulated. Since 2018, more than 2,000 people have wandered away from assisted-living and memory-care facilities unnoticed or been left unattended for hours outside. Nearly 100 have died, and state inspectors frequently found evidence of neglect.
“Not only is the narrative haunting, but the videos are chilling and cannot be unseen. It is a reminder why the full digital package – reporting, writing, legal work and security video cameras — is critical to impact and effective storytelling. The project involved multiple highly talented journalists,” NPF judges said.
For KGTV ABC 10News in San Diego, Adam Racusin, Raymond Higgins, Adam Hillberry and Steve Reusch created The Cost of Care series highlighting the financial toll of dementia care in the U.S. and its emotional effect on family members who become caretakers.
“The [reporters] went beyond family members, policymakers, advocates and experts to even interview some of the very people sliding into Alzheimer’s. The interviews are some of the strongest I have watched. It is clear the [reporter] established deep trust with his subjects and spent considerable time on these pieces,” NPF judges said.
Lawmakers at the state and federal level responded to the series, demonstrating the journalism’s impact and potential to drive legislative change.
The winners for both categories accepted the awards at NPF’s Annual Journalism Awards Dinner on Feb. 20 at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C.
The judges also wish to recognize Rose Lundy of The Maine Monitor with an honorable mention for her series partnering with ProPublica, which revealed hundreds of violations of residential care residents, only two of which resulted in health department sanctions.
This is The Washington Post’s second consecutive win in this category after Tara Bahrampour won for her series on octogenarians defying stereotypes. Dave Altimari and Jenna Carlesso of the CT Mirror won in the 2023 small outlet category.
The AARP Award was established in 2023 to recognize excellence in reporting on issues related to aging and encourage journalists to cover the challenges and opportunities for people and society in the face of significant demographic trends.
