Our collaborative collection with the Flatwater Free Press on Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen’s world hog enterprise, water high quality points surrounding his operations, and his political affect over agricultural coverage has gained first place in Explanatory Reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). Judges praised the collection, co-written by senior reporter Sky Chadde and Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu, for its “masterful” investigative reporting that uncovered the hidden environmental impacts of Pillen’s hog empire.
Regardless of dealing with private assaults, together with these concentrating on reporter Yanqi Xu’s nationality, the group’s relentless pursuit of fact earned excessive reward from judges, who recommended their tenacity in uncovering the hidden penalties of the governor’s industrial-scale hog farming operations.
Yanqi Xu and Sky Chadde painstakingly sifted by way of hundreds of information to uncover the hidden environmental affect of an industrial-scale hog farm empire owned by a state governor and its position in contamination of groundwater with a substance linked to childhood most cancers.
Judges’ feedback
Earlier this yr, the collection additionally obtained the highest enterprise reporting award within the authorities (small division) class from the Society for Advancing Enterprise Enhancing and Writing (SABEW) in its 2024 Better of Enterprise awards. This recognition underscores the essential significance of investigating the intersection of politics, enterprise, and environmental well being.
Monitoring wells at 16 Pillen family-tied operations have examined for nitrate ranges far above authorized ingesting water restrict. One was so excessive, an knowledgeable stated, “it must be a 911.”
Jim Pillen constructed one of many greatest hog enterprises within the nation. Then he bought elected governor. It’s a Nebraska success story — one elevating questions on potential conflicts of curiosity.
Like this:
LikeLoading…
Sort of labor:
Information Based mostly on info, both noticed and verified immediately by the reporter, or reported and verified from educated sources.
Republish our articles totally free, on-line or in print.
Lauren Cross is the assistant editor/viewers engagement supervisor at Examine Midwest. Her position entails not solely modifying and managing content material but additionally creating revolutionary methods to have interaction with…
Extra by Lauren Cross
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25703051/Apple_iMac_M4_hero.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1 "Apple updates the iMac with new colours and an M4 chip")
