Atlanta, GA
Atlanta News First reporting wins prestigious duPont Columbia Award
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Sixth, an in-depth investigative series produced by Atlanta News First Investigates (WANF-TV) and InvestigateTV, has been awarded a 2024 duPont-Columbia Award.
Award winners were announced at a ceremony Thursday hosted by David Muir and Audie Cornish at Columbia University’s Low Library. The award is considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, both administered by the university.
The series, led by investigative reporter Andy Pierrotti, examined the impact of public defender shortages throughout Georgia and the nation. While The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens accused of crimes the right to an attorney if they can’t afford one and a speedy trial, the series uncovered hundreds of people behind bars with no legal representation for months at a time.
Pierrotti traveled to Georgia, Wisconsin, Oregon and Maryland to document the consequences when there are no attorneys available for the poor and its impact to the criminal justice system.
Other contributors to the series include, Lee Zurik, vice president of investigations; Jamie Gray, managing editor at InvestigateTV; Lindsey Basye, executive producer of investigations; Luke Carter, investigative photojournalist and lead editor; Eric Carlton, investigative photojournalist; Dimitri Lotovski, investigative photojournalist; Bailey Williams, investigative producer; and Tim Darnell, digital content producer.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Columbia University and the jurors who believed the series was worthy of such an honor,” Pierrotti said. “I’m also lucky to work on a team with some of the best journalists in the country who helped make sure these important stories got on television and online.”
The journalism organization revealed 14 other winners during the evening, including PBS who won three, and The New York Times. Atlanta News First is among just five local news outlets to win.
The winning pieces go through a rigorous screening process before a group of nine jurors ultimately selects the award recipients.
“In this moment when truth is being tested here at home and around the world,” said Muir, “It is a privilege to honor the journalists who work tirelessly to uncover the truth, and who often risk their own lives to report on the most pressing stories of our time. Their work has never been more important, and it serves as an inspiration for us all”
Founded by Jessie Ball duPont in honor of her late husband Alfred I. duPont, for 80 years the duPont awards have set the standard for audio and video reporting, in broadcast, documentary and online.
The duPont-Columbia Awards uphold the highest standards in journalism by honoring winners annually, informing the public about those journalists’ contributions and supporting journalism education and innovation, thereby cultivating a collective spirit for the profession.
“Every year I am uplifted by the sense of purpose these journalists bring into the rotunda at this ceremony,” said duPont Director Lisa R. Cohen. “Their work is a model for our students, and journalists everywhere.”
2024 duPont-Columbia Award winners:
- 20 Days in Mariupol, The Associated Press | PBS FRONTLINE
- Accountability After Uvalde, Tony Plohetski & KVUE TV | The Austin American-Statesman
- Afghanistan, Undercover PBS FRONTLINE
- Aftershock, ABC News Studios | Onyx Collective | Hulu
- Against All Enemies, Scott Friedman & KXAS-TV (NBC)
- Beyond Utopia, Ideal Partners
- BURNED, KUSA 9NEWS Denver
- Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in Bucha, The New York Times
- Mother Country, Radicals Crooked Media
- Putin vs the West, Brook Lapping | Les Films D’ici
- Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong, APM Reports
- The 13th Step, New Hampshire Public Radio
- Environmental Reporting: (Combined) The Power of Water & Trashed, ABC News
- The Power of Water, ABC News
- Trashed: The Secret Life of Plastic Recycling, ABC News
- The Sixth, Andy Pierrotti & WANF-TV | InvestigateTV
- The U.S. and the Holocaust, Florentine Films | WETA
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