Lisa Davis joins writers from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker in winning a prestigious George Polk Award. Her two-part series, "Fallout", which won in the environmental reporting category, exposed mishandled radioactive waste at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard at Hunter's Point.
The Boston Phoenix reports on a flourishing trade in human flesh. Andrew Bushell reports that Afghan refugees in Pakistan are sold into prostitution, while indentured servitude flourishes. Bushell goes inside a opulent Eastern Pakistan home where "untouched" virgins, meaning they have not had anal sex, are sold for thousands of dollars.
Artvoice Publisher Jamie Moses buys and closes rival Blue Dog Press in a deal announced today. Blue Dog prints its last run Thursday, ending alt-weekly competition in Buffalo. Former staffers at Blue Dog, once called Buffalo Beat, lament the demise of the scrappy paper, but Moses has the last word: "This market can support two weeklies, but not two successful weeklies."
Laura Miller, firebrand ex-Dallas Observer columnist, wins the runoff mayoral election in the Big D. "She is intelligent, articulate and dedicated to her goals," says The Dallas Morning News in an editorial. "And the fact that she is a former investigative reporter is certain to attract national attention."
