Boston Phoenix staff writer David Bernstein was named Journalist of the Year by the New England Press Association. He also brought home two additional first-place awards for the Phoenix -- in the Investigative Reporting and Serious Columnist categories. "Mr. Bernstein's in-depth articles are compelling and hyper-relevant, challenging myths and assumptions with sharp, clear reporting and a highly readable writing style," the judges write. "Very impressive!" All in all, the Phoenix won another nine awards, including additional first-place wins for Convergence and Reporting on Religious Issues. Worcester Magazine took home six awards, including first-place finishes in the Personality Photo, Social Issues Feature Story and Local Ad: Color categories. Boston's Weekly Dig won four awards, finishing first in Educational Reporting, Infographics and Transportation/Commuter Reporting. The Portland Phoenix also won four awards, and placed first in the General News Story category.
In the eighteenth installment of this year's "How I Got That Story" series, Jake Bernstein talks about his story for The Texas Observer that revealed the state's governor had amassed a huge database of information on Texas' citizens without them knowing it. The story came to Bernstein, who is now a reporter at ProPublica, via a tip, and sparked immediate reactions. "It was one of the most instantaneous responses I've ever had to a story," Bernstein says. "Literally, within hours of us posting it on our website, people were talking about it on the Texas House floor." He explains to Angelica Herrera how he pieced together the story, his opinion on anonymous sources, and the ultimate impact of his story.
ProPublica, "a non-profit newsroom producing journalism in the public interest" founded by former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger last October, has hired Jake Bernstein as a reporter, according to a press release. Bernstein has been with the Observer since 2002, and before that, he worked at Miami New Times. In the same release, ProPublica announced another AAN-alum hire: Former San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly staff writer A.C. Thompson has also been hired as a reporter.
