{
  "id": "2007-marchapril-meyer-winners-examine-stocks-hospitals-schools",
  "slug": "2007-marchapril-meyer-winners-examine-stocks-hospitals-schools",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2007-marchapril-meyer-winners-examine-stocks-hospitals-schools.html",
  "year": 2007,
  "month": "March/April",
  "monthNum": 3,
  "headline": "MEYER WINNERS EXAMINE STOCKS, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS",
  "kicker": "INSIDE NICAR",
  "author_name": "David Herzog",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "NICAR",
  "summary": "Three newspapers won the 2006 Philip Meyer Award for using social science methods in investigative journalism, with the Wall Street Journal taking first place for uncovering stock option backdating, Gannett News Service second for analyzing hospital care disparities, and the Philadelphia Inquirer third for exposing irregularities in Camden school test scores.",
  "keywords": [
    "journalism",
    "investigation",
    "analysis"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Journalism & Newsroom"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "Three newspapers recently won the 2006 Philip Meyer Award for their use of social science methods in reporting on stock options, hospital care and public schools.\n\nThe Wall Street Journal took first place for \"Perfect Payday,\" a series of stories that uncovered the practice of secretly backdating stock options to benefit corporate insiders. Reporters Charles Forelle and James Bandler used a statistical model to show how the backdating timing probably didn't happen by mere chance.\n\nGannett News Service won second place for \"Special Report: Rating Hospital Health Care.\" Database editor Robert Benincasa and reporter Jennifer Brooks analyzed national treatment data to show how patients in poor and rural areas weren't getting recommended care.\n\nThe Philadelphia Inquirer received third place for its investigation of Camden, N.J., schools. Melanie Burney, Frank Kummer and Dwight Ott found some test scores at some of the schools in the troubled district were higher than would be expected. The revelations led to the resignation of the superintendent and close oversight from the state.\n\nCongratulations to the winners. It's great to see journalists using the tools of social science to report on matters that are important to us all. More information about the winners and the Meyer Award is available online at www.ire.org/meyeraward/06winners.html. Contact David Herzog by e-mail at dherzog@nicar.org.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
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    {
      "slug": "1997-may-surfing-for-winners",
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  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2007-marchapril-meyer-winners-examine-stocks-hospitals-schools.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2007-marchapril-meyer-winners-examine-stocks-hospitals-schools.json"
}