MPR News Wins Prestigious National Journalism Award for its Investigative Reporting of the Twin Cities Archdiocese

Dec 16, 2014

(St. Paul, Minn.)--Dec. 17, 2014-- Minnesota Public Radio News today was named the recipient of an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, one of the highest honors in broadcast, documentary and digital journalism. The broadcast equivalent to the Pulitzer Prizes, the award recognizes MPR News' reporting in a series of investigative stories -- called "Betrayed by Silence" -- that exposed how leaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis continued to cover up abuse of children by priests, despite decades of assurances that the Catholic Church was safe. It is the first time MPR News has received the award.

"We are honored and grateful to receive the duPont Award," said Chris Worthington, MPR News' managing director. "While the stories can be difficult to hear, it's important they be told. They were well-documented and carefully reported. We are proud of our journalism and community service."

Worthington, along with lead reporter Madeleine Baran and others, will accept the award on behalf of the MPR News team at a Jan. 20 ceremony hosted by NBC News anchor Brian Williams and NPR's Michel Martin, in New York. They will be in the company of other award recipients such as CNN, Netflix, PBS and NPR.

"We devoted a lot of time and energy to this story because it was so important to tell," said Baran. "For the duPont Awards to recognize our hard work and say 'Yes, this is valuable journalism,' is very meaningful."

The Alfred I. duPont Award comes among other honors in 2014 for "Betrayed by Silence." The series received Page One Awards for Story of the Year and for Best Continuing Coverage online by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), which also named Baran as Young Journalist of the Year. Baran received a Gracie (Alliance for Women in the Media) award for Outstanding Investigative Program or Feature. In addition, the series received an RTDNA regional Edward R. Murrow Award, an Online News Association award for investigative data journalism, and awards from the Religious Newswriters Association and the Northwest Broadcast News Association.

About MPR News: MPR News has long been recognized as one of the foremost journalistic organizations in the Upper Midwest, reaching news consumers across all platforms. Reaching more than 500,000 listeners each week, the MPR News radio signal can be heard by 95 percent of Minnesotans, it distributes stories daily to 35 newspapers statewide, shares news coverage with KARE 11 - Minnesota's largest television station -and has news bureaus around the state and in Washington, D.C. More at mprnews.org. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio. Data are estimates only.

About the Alfred I duPont Award: For over 70 years, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards have recognized excellence in broadcast journalism. Regarded today as one of the most prestigious prizes in broadcast, documentary and digital news - the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes - the duPont-Columbia Awards bring the best in broadcast, documentary and digital journalism to professional and public attention by honoring those who produce it.