Barlett & Steele Awards: A stellar track record

The Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism since their 2007 inception have blazed a high-visibility path of excellence in rewarding incisive business reporting that “tells us something we don’t know.”

The awards are named for the illustrious investigative business journalist team of Don Barlett & Jim Steele, who have worked together more than three decades, receiving two Pulitzers, two National Magazine awards and a long list of other journalism awards.

Administered by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, the Barlett & Steele awards for Gold ($2,500 prize), Silver ($1,500) and Bronze ($500) each fall honor journalists and news organizations ranging in size from local to international. A panel of veteran business journalists makes the selections.

“We’ve been so impressed with the quality of these stories that year after year have delved into the stories that nobody knew about–or shed light on areas they thought they knew about,” said Jim Steele.

About Donald Barlett & James Steele

Donald Barlett and James Steele have worked together for more than three decades, first at The Philadelphia Inquirer (1971-1997), where they won two Pulitzer Prizes and scores of other national journalism awards, then at Time magazine (1997-2006), where they earned two National Magazine Awards, becoming the first journalists in history to win both the Pulitzer and its magazine equivalent.

They are now contributing editors at Vanity Fair.

The Washington Journalism Review says of Barlett and Steele: “They are almost certainly the best team in the history of investigative reporting.”

Previous Winners

2021

Gold: “The Secret IRS Files” series by a reporting team from ProPublica.

Silver: “Fruits of Labor” by Margie Mason and Robin McDowell of The Associated Press.

Bronze: “The Cutting” by a reporting team from The Oregonian, Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica.

2020

Gold: “Luanda Leaks” by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), FRONTLINE, Expresso, the New York Times and 33 other media partners.

Silver: “When the Wells Run Dry” by the Center for Public Integrity and the Los Angeles Times.

Bronze: “Profiting from the Poor” by Wendi C. Thomas of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, working with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network.

2019

Gold: “Hidden Harm” by Christina Jewett of Kaiser Health News and “Implant Files” by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the NBC News Investigative Unit and the Associated Press.

Silver: “PG&E: Wired for Failure” by The Wall Street Journal staff – in particular reporters Russell Gold, Katherine Blunt and Rebecca Smith.

Bronze: “Polluted by Money” by Rob Davis of The Oregonian.

2018

Gold: “Brexit’s Big Short” by Cam Simpson, Gavin Finch and Kit Chellel of Bloomberg News

Silver: “The Investigation of Michael Cohen” by Michael Rothfeld, Joe Palazzolo, Rebecca Ballhaus, Peter Nicholas and Alexandra Berzon of The Wall Street Journal

Bronze: “Cutting ‘Old Heads’ at IBM” by Peter Gosselin, Ariana Tobin and Ranjani Chakraborty of ProPublica

2017

Gold: “Dangerous Doses” by Sam Roe, Ray Long and Karisa King of Chicago Tribune

Silver: “Sticking with the Pig: A tale of loyalty and loss” by Tony Bartelme of The Post and Courier

Bronze: “Lowering the Bar” by John Fauber, Kristina Fiore and Matt Wynn in MedPage Today

2016

Gold: “The Panama Papers” by CPI’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 media partners worldwide *

Silver: “Testing Theranos” by John Carreyrou, Christopher Weaver and Michael Siconolfi of The Wall Street Journal

Bronze: “OxyContin’s 12-Hour Problem” by Harriet Ryan, Lisa Girion and Scott Glover of the Los Angeles Times

2015

Gold: “Fish Slavery” by Robin McDowell, Margie Mason, Martha Mendoza and Esther Htusan of The Associated Press * 

Silver: “Unchecked Care” by Christopher Serres and Glenn Howatt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Bronze: “Dying for Care” by Pat Beall of The Palm Beach Post

2014

Gold: “Temp Land” by Michael Grabell of ProPublica

Silver: “The Child Exchange” by Megan Twohey

Bronze: “Hospice Inc.” by Ben Hallman and Shane Shifflett of The Huffington Post

2013

Gold: “America’s Worst Charities” by Kris Hundley and Kendall Taggart in a joint project of the Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting

Silver: “The United States of Subsidies” by Louise Story of The New York Times

Bronze: “Inside Game: How Corporate Insiders Profit Ahead of the Public” by Susan Pulliam, Rob Barry, Michael Siconolfi and Jean Eaglesham of The Wall Street Journal

2012

Gold: “Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart after Top-Level Struggle” by David Barstow of The New York Times *

Silver: “Ghost Factories” by lead reporters Alison Young and Peter Eisler of USA Today

Bronze: “Prognosis: Profits” by Ames Alexander, Karen Garloch, Joseph Neff and David Raynor

Honorable Mentions: 

• Bloomberg News, “The Fed’s Trillion-Dollar Secret” by Bob Ivry, Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz.
• Chicago Tribune, “Playing with Fire” by Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe and Michael Hawthorne.
• Reuters, “Chesapeake Energy” by Brian Grow, Anna Driver, Joshua Schneyer, Jeanine Prezioso, David Sheppard, John Shiffman and Janet Roberts.

2011

Gold: “Public Pensions, A Soaring Burden” by Craig Harris of The Arizona Republic

Silver:  “A Case of Shattered Trust” by Raquel Rutledge and Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Bronze: “Seniors for Sale” by Michael J. Berens of The Seattle Times

Honorable Mentions: 

• Bloomberg Markets: “Profiting From Fallen Soldiers” by David Evans.

• CNBC: “Remington Under Fire: A CNBC Investigation” by Scott Cohn and CNBC team.
• ProPublica: “Dialysis: High Costs and Hidden Perils of a Treatment Guaranteed to All” by Robin Fields, Jennifer LaFleur and Al Shaw.

2010

Gold: “Diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Dropped by Insurer” by Murray Waas of Reuters

Silver: “Side Effects: Money, Medicine and Patients” by John Fauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Honorable Mentions:

• McClatchy Newspapers: “Goldman Sachs and the Housing Crash” by Greg Gordon, Kevin Hall and Chris Adams
• Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Hounded: Debtors and the New Breed of Collectors” by Chris Serres and Glenn Howatt
• Philadelphia Inquirer: “Inside the Health-Care Crucible: Reports from a Hospital in a Time of Upheaval” by Michael Vitez
• USA Today: “The Credit Trap” by Kathy Chu

2009

Gold: The Miami Herald for “Borrowers Betrayed” by Jack Dolan, Matthew Haggman and Rob Barry

Silver: Bloomberg Markets for “AARP’s Stealth Fees” by Gary Cohn and Darrell Preston

2008

Gold: BusinessWeek for “Prisoners of Debt” by Robert Berner, Keith Epstein, Brian Grow and Geri Smith

Silver: The Seattle Times for “The Favor Factory” by Hal Bernton and David Heath

2007

Gold: The New York Times for “A Toxic Pipeline” by Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker *

Silver: The Baltimore Sun for “On Shaky Ground” by Fred Schulte and June Arney

* The writers of these articles went on to receive a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting the following year.