The Whitman Bassow Award 2009

Jason Gale

Best reporting in any medium on international environmental issues

AWARD DATE: 2009

AWARD NAME: The Whitman Bassow Award 2009

AWARD RECIPIENT: Jason Gale

AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: Bloomberg Markets

AWARD HONORED WORK: “Sanitation Nightmare”

In “Sanitation Nightmare,” Jason Gale kicks in the door without knocking to show the stark human, environmental, social, health and economic costs of a problem so obvious and basic that many journalists might choose to ignore it – the lack of toilets in more than half of India’s households. Gale draws upon an impressive array of sources – almost all of them Indian – compelling statistics and excellent photography to support a well-written exposé of a distinctly unglamorous issue that leaves a deep impression on the reader.

Citation for Excellence:
Perry Beeman
Des Moines Register/International Reporting Project
“Renewal in Rwanda”