Seattle Times Reporter Duff Wilson Wins Journalism Prizes
Posted on April 14, 1998
For his investigative series "Fear in the Fields," Seattle Times reporter Duff Wilson has been named co-winner of The Goldsmith Prize, Winner of the National Headliner Award and a finalist in the Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Awards.
"Fear in the Fields" investigates the use of contaminated industrial wastes in agricultural fertilizer. Wilson's investigation began in the rural community of Quincy, Washington and expanded to cover the issue on a nationwide basis. The first three installments were published in July of 1997 and the series continues as a breaking news story. As a result of the series, a number of states, including Washington, are developing standards for the use of waste in fertilizer and the Environmental Protection Agency has the issue under study.
The prestigious $25,000 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting was awarded by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's ohn F. Kennedy School of Government in mid-March. Wilson shared the prize with Michael Duffy, Michael Weisskopf and Viveca Novak of Time magazine for their series on abuse of campaign finance laws. The Goldsmith prize honors journalism which promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics.
