For a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper through the use of its journalistic resources which, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs and an on-line presentation, a gold medal.
Awarded to The Washington Post for its series that identified and analyzed patterns of reckless gunplay by city police officers who had little training or supervision.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: The Boston Globe for the work of Dolores Kong and Robert Whitaker that disclosed how, for decades, psychiatric researchers callously performed drug experiments on mentally ill patients, and The Philadelphia Inquirer for its series that explained how local police routinely manipulated crime statistics to make the city appear safer.