02-05-2025
Journal Sentinel's coverage of prisons, assisted living wins Wisconsin investigative reporting award
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel took top honors at the inaugural Wisconsin A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism, securing both first and second place for its impactful reporting.
The awards were announced April 25 by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
First place went to a reporting team of Journal Sentinel reporters Vanessa Swales, Drake Bentley, Laura Schulte, Ashley Luthern and Appleton Post-Crescent reporter Kelli Arseneau. The team was honored for its efforts covering Wisconsin's prison crisis, shedding light on inhumane conditions within the state's correctional facilities through a combination of investigative reporting and day-to-day coverage.
The team closely followed the lockdowns at the state's prisons, documenting the impact on people who lacked access to fresh air, visitors, or educational programming for months on end.
Swales and Bentley also investigated a series of troubling deaths and suicides at Waupun Correctional Institution. Later, several leaders and workers at the prison were charged in connection to some of those deaths.
Judges praised the reporting team for shedding light on a situation "that has been begging for clear-sighted attention for decades."
"The public generally doesn't want to hear about – or care much about – the lives of the incarcerated but this series brought inhumane conditions into daylight where they couldn't be ignored,' the judges wrote. 'The quality of journalism and quality of presentation in this series were of the highest quality."
Journal Sentinel reporter Cleo Krejci earned second place for "The Gray Zone," an in-depth look into the challenges faced by residents and staff within Wisconsin's assisted living facilities.
Judges called the series "compelling" and "powerful." They also commended Krejci's first-person story describing her own experiences working as a direct caregiver.
"At the Journal Sentinel, we work every day to make a difference in our community," said Executive Editor Greg Borowski. "Often that difference comes through deep, complicated, sustained reporting on key issues. This award recognizes that powerful work and is a reflection of our commitment to investigative journalism."
The A-Mark Prizes are awarded by press clubs in numerous states to recognize excellence in investigative reporting.
In Wisconsin, the competition was judged by a panel of retired journalists and representatives from the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Journalists Bill Schanen IV and Kristyn Halbig-Ziehm of The Ozaukee Press took third place for their entry "Microchip Plant."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Coverage of Wisconsin prisons, assisted living wins state investigative reporting award
