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Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize

The Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting is awarded to the best overall entry in the National Awards for Education Reporting. Hechinger winners receive $1,000. The winner is chosen from among first-prize winners by the entire panel of contest judges. Click here to see previous winners of the Grand Prize.

A series of stories looking at how education in the United States profits from Chinese students won EWA’s top prize for education reporting.

Bloomberg News won the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting for the second year in a row for Lost in Translation, a series of stories that looked at the predatory recruiting fees Chinese students pay to attend satellite college campuses; the exorbitant tuition rates private boarding schools charge Chinese students; and the effect that Chinese students paying full tuition has on Asian American students’ opportunities to attend selective colleges in the United States.

Daniel Golden and Oliver Staley wrote the 10 stories in the series. Golden was a part of the Bloomberg team that won the 2011 grand prize for “Education Inc.,” a hard-nosed investigative examination of for-profit higher education.

“This series does an excellent job of uncovering a large issue of great national interest that had been flying under the radar,” wrote one of the judges. “Great breadth of coverage and excellent personal stories come together in top-notch storytelling and public service journalism.”

EWA announced the winners of the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting at its annual conference in Philadelphia on May 19. The award includes a cash prize of $1,500. The grand prize winner is selected out of the 18 first-prize winners.

The other winners of the 2011 National Awards for Education Reporting were also recognized at the annual conference. 

A total of 340 entries were judged in this year’s contest, and 61 entries were recognized by the judges. 

Contest judging was conducted independently, under the direction of Chief Judge Tamara M. Cooke Henry, Ph.D., of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland. 

This year’s panel of distinguished judges were: Abby Brownback, The Gazette; Doug Cumming, Washington & Lee University; Wayne Dawkins, Hampton University; Duchesne Drew, Star Tribune; Steven Drummond, National Public Radio; Elliott Francis, WAMU 88.5; Sarahmaria Gomez, TU Multimedia and Medill School of Journalism,  Northwestern University; Steve Henderson, Detroit Free Press; Christy DeBoe Hicks, The Century Foundation; Maureen McCarthy, Star Tribune; Carrie Porter, AOL’s Patch; Tracey Wong Briggs, Graduate Management Admission Council; and Mary Jane Smetanka, Star Tribune.