All the finalists in the "Newspapers: Local Circulation Weeklies" category were AAN members, but Todd Spivak came out on top for "Run Over By Metro." The prestigious awards, given by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year. Judges said Spivak's "compelling and vivid narrative writing gives extraordinary power to the victims' stories and fuels the outrage over the agency's misconduct." The other finalists were Sarah Fenske of Phoenix New Times (for "Cracked Houses"), Dan Frosch of the Santa Fe Reporter (for "The Wexford Files"), and Matthew Fleischer of LA Weekly (for "Navahoax").
Writing in this month's CJR, Gloria Cooper gives kudos to the alt-weekly for its "long-running series on the state of the health care system in New Mexico" that led to the termination of Wexford Health Sources' contract with the New Mexico Department of Corrections. The Reporter's series highlighted repeated abuses and systemic failures by the for-profit company formerly in charge of inmate care.
Citing the alt-weekly's five-month investigative series into repeated abuses and systemic failures on the part of Wexford Health Services, Governor Bill Richardson has ordered a termination of the company's $27 million contract to provide medical care within New Mexico's prison system. Richardson's spokesperson confirms the decision to axe Wexford was made based on the Reporter series. "They're done," spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told the weekly. "We expect to have a new provider in a reasonable amount of time."
The 40,000-circulation SoCal weekly has hired the services of high-powered law firm Leopold, Petrich & Smith -- currently representing 20th Century Fox in the suits against the movie Borat -- in its legal battle against the Santa Barbara News-Press and its litigious owner, Wendy McCaw. McCaw's Ampersand Publishing accuses the alt-weekly of copyright infringement and a host of other offenses for posting a PDF of a story -- originally written for the News-Press -- about a public protest against the daily. Reporter Scott Hadly, who wrote the article, quit the News-Press after his story was killed by the assistant publisher. "We have never bowed to intimidation, and hope that by fighting [Ampersand], we are leading by example and showing that this little freebie weekly [isn't] going to roll over," writes Indy Pop Culture Editor Matt Kettmann.
SFR landed three first-place awards in the most recent contest of the New Mexico Press Association. Staff writer Nathan Dinsdale was recognized for news writing and feature writing, while staff writer Dan Frosch placed first in investigative reporting.
The latest in a series of investigative articles by the Santa Fe Reporter reveals that a state corrections committee has requested an independent audit of health care in New Mexico's state's prisons. The audit will focus on Wexford Health Sources, the private contractor that an Aug. 9 SFR article reported cut costs by cutting care. The paper later reported that deplorable conditions in the state's prisons had caused health care providers there to fall under the scrutiny of legislators and the American Civil Liberties Union. State Rep. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, cited another SFR story in which one of Wexford's own employees decried treatment of inmates as inhumane. “That’s pretty darn scary to me,” Wirth said of the allegation.
The Washington Post reports that Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy McCaw has threatened legal action against three former employees and the Santa Barbara Independent. According to the Post, the alt-weekly received a cease-and-desist letter this week after it "published" a story -- originally written for the News-Press -- about a public protest against the daily. Reporter Scott Hadly, who wrote the article, quit the News-Press last Friday after his story was killed by the assistant publisher. Editor Marianne Partridge tells the Post that the Independent complied on the advice of its lawyers. (UPDATE: Independent Publisher Randy Campbell tells AAN News that he disagrees with the Post's characterization of the incident. He says his paper merely removed a PDF version of Hadly's story that had been posted on its Web site as a supporting document for the Independent's original reporting, which remains online.)
