Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Lakeland Times Entry Title: Sexual assault and the criminal justice system Entry Credit: Richard Moore Judge Comment: Excellent reporting and investigating showing multiple levels of coverup and an unbelievable keystone cop shop.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Sawyer County Record Entry Title: Did the system meant to protect children fail four-year-old Zoey Chafer? Entry Credit: Frank Zufall Judge Comment: Death of a child is always hard to invesigate and write about. Did a good job, showing levels of incompetence and yet staying compassionate.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Vilas County News-Review Entry Title: Defense attorney shortage undermining rights Entry Credit: Sara Carias Judge Comment: This is becoming more and more of a problem across the nation. Good research and follow though. Would like to see an article on the individual they were tracking.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Foto News Entry Title: Cordovas file wrongful death lawsuit against Lincoln County Entry Credit: Tina L. Scott Judge Comment: Article shows a lot of level of incompetence and cover up. Just wish the paper itself dug deeper into the situation.
Competition Comment: Very competitive category. All entries were strong, some jsut did a deeper dive into the matter than others.
