30-04-2025
'Gilbert Goons' documentary by Arizona Republic named finalist for video storytelling
The Arizona Republic and coverage of the 'Gilbert Goons' has earned national recognition from two prestigious journalism organizations.
The 'Goons' documentary has been named a finalist in the local video storytelling category in the Scripps Howard Journalism Awards. The documentary was compiled by videographer Michael Chow and reporters Robert Anglen and Elena Santa Cruz.
The fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord in the Phoenix suburbs drew widespread attention, and The Republic's reporters were the first to tie his beating to the "Goons," a gang of suburban teenagers whose attacks on other teens had gone unchecked by police for more than a year.
The Scripps Howard competition focuses on high impact reporting, recognizing 'journalism that spurs action, news organizations that go the extra mile to expose previously undisclosed or misunderstood information and journalists who embrace new tools, channels, technologies and approaches to provide more immersive experiences for their audiences,' according to its website.
Scripps Howard names three finalists in each category in its competition, with the category winner to be announced online at on June 10. In addition to "Preston Lord's Death Uncovers 'Gilbert Goons,'" other finalists in the local video storytelling category are ABC 15 Arizona for "Policing Phoenix: The DOJ Report" and Frontline (PBS) for "Maui's Deadly Firestorm."
Anglen, Santa Cruz and Chow also were named finalists in the 2025 Investigative Reporters and Editors contest for their 'Goons' reporting and documentary.
Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting.
The judges said: 'In an exhaustive, winding investigation reported over months, The Arizona Republic tied the deadly beating of a 16-year-old to a string of assaults by a gang of elite teenagers. The reporting showed significant cover-up attempts, community outrage and inaction by local police who appeared to look the other way as teen assaults mounted up, months before one turned deadly. '
won the category with a story on Alabama's parole system, and a team from the Miami Herald was the other finalist, with coverage of a botched investigation into a deadly boating crash.
Guilty plea: Teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in Preston Lord death
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Gilbert Goons' documentary named finalist for video storytelling
