Hannah Dreier of the New York Times has been awarded first place in the 2023 Shaufler Prize in Journalism for “Alone and Exploited,” a powerful and comprehensive examination of the resurgence of child labor in the United States.
Hannah’s reporting took her to nine states where she interviewed hundreds of children, revealing that young migrants are ending up in some of the nation’s most punishing jobs. She painstakingly chronicled failures of the federal government, immigrant sponsors, schools and employers.
“I’m grateful to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism for this meaningful recognition. I’ve drawn so much inspiration from the past Shaufler Prize winners, and it’s a privilege to join this company,” Dreier said. “It’s essential for us as journalists to focus on underserved communities. This is also a recognition of the migrant children who courageously shared their stories. In the end, their bravery forced concrete change at corporations and across government agencies.”
Dreier’s initial story ran on Feb. 25, 2023, with subsequent follow-ups that garnered attention from the White House and other policy makers.
“Hannah Dreier’s work exemplifies the spirit of the Schaufler Prize,” said Dr. Battinto L. Batts Jr., dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. “Her commitment to telling the stories of exploited child workers is as instructive as it is inspiring.”
The Shaufler Prize, administered by the Cronkite School, recognizes America’s best journalism advancing the understanding of stories and issues related to underrepresented people in society, such as communities of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and those with disabilities. The contest distributes $20,000 in prizes.
Second place in the professional category was awarded to Courtney Tanner of the Salt Lake Tribune for her project “Failing the Utes,” which explored how children from the Ute tribe — which gave Utah its name — perform poorly in school as measured by dropout rates, graduation rates and testing proficiency. The shortcomings are an embarrassing legacy that stretches back to the two Indigenous boarding schools that operated on the reservation, starting in the late 1800s. The series relied on records and on the challenging task of building relationships with tribal members.
Third place goes to “Surviving the Water: New York City’s Flooding Crisis in the Age of Climate Change,” produced by Documented, Climate Central and the Pulitzer Center by lead reporters Rommel H. Ojeda and John Upton. The investigation delved into the floods that have threatened the neighborhood of Hollis, Queens for more than a century. The investigation not only found evidence of rainfall afflicting the neighborhood since 1926 but also highlighted how the infrastructure has failed to protect residents — primarily immigrants — against the increased rainfall resulting from the effects of climate change.
In the student category, the winner is “Hard Lessons,” – a NYCity News Service examination of the new, long-term challenges raised by COVID and other challenges in New York schools, by the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. The Newmark team looked at indicators of inequality brought into stark relief by the pandemic.
Shaufler Prize winners will be recognized on March 26 during an awards ceremony at the Cronkite School. The event will also be streamed as a CronkiteLIVE special event via YouTube.
Now in its third year, the Shaufler Prize was established by Paul B. Anderson, the principal & CEO of Workhouse Media in Seattle, Washington to honor his late friend, Ed Shaufler, who died in late 2020. Shaufler cared deeply about promoting understanding of underrepresented people.
“The journalism being recognized this year brings much needed attention to challenges of many underrepresented groups in our society,” Anderson said. “I am gratified that so much high-quality work continues to honor Ed’s spirit and the principles he espoused.”
Judges for the 2023 Shaufler Prize:
Kathy Best – director of the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism and former executive editor at the Seattle Times.
Aydali Campa – A Cronkite School alumna and an independent journalist formerly with Inside Climate News, and winner of the 2022 Shaufler Prize.
Adrianne Flynn – former director, University of Maryland Merrill School of Journalism Capital News Service Annapolis Bureau; former Washington Correspondent, Arizona Republic; Cronkite School alumna.
Janeen Jones, design editor at the Center for Public Integrity.
Asraa Mustufa – managing editor of The Examination, a digital news site Investigating health threats and empowering communities.
Lizzie Presser – ProPublica reporter covering health, inequality and how policy is experienced, and a 2021 winner of the Schaufler Prize.
Catherine Williams – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Director at the Phoenix News Bureau of Cronkite News, a product of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.