Best business reporting from abroad in newspapers or news services
AWARD YEAR: 2008
AWARD NAME: The Malcolm Forbes Award 2008
RECIPIENTS: Alan Bjerga, Carlos Caminada, Alison Fitzgerald, Jason Gale, Luziann Javier, Alan Katz, Ian Katz, Ari Levy, Pius Lukong, Helen Murphy, Christopher Swann, Peter Robison
AFFILIATION: Bloomberg News
HONORED WORK: “Recipe for Famine”
In “Recipe for Famine,” the staff of Bloomberg News took a big story, largely underplayed by most media, and examined it from a variety of angles, showing the interconnectedness of the food crisis and the sad truth that the crisis is largely manmade. In one story it shines a light on the 50-year old US food aid laws favoring American farmers and traders. The reporters use the narrative of an Ethiopian farmer and his family to show how those laws stalled the delivery of aid so long that many members of the farmer’s family died of malnutrition. Another story shows how a few businessmen manipulated the production and distribution of fertilizer, resulting in reduced food production and high prices. The reporters looked at ethanol production, often viewed as a welcome antidote to rising oil prices, and showed the knock-on effects of diverting corn to this purpose — a further reduction of food production. The series uncovered rampant corruption, misguided food aid policies and tragic waste and told the stories through first-rate reporting and effective use of narrative.
Citation for Excellence:
Staff of The Wall Street Journal
“Money and Power in Putin’s Russia”