Earlier this month, Columbia Journalism School announced that NHPR podcast The 13th Step is among 30 Finalists for the 2024 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards.
The duPont-Columbia Awards honor outstanding public service audio and video reporting. Founded by Jessie Ball duPont in honor of her late husband Alfred I. duPont, the awards have upheld “the highest standards in journalism by honoring winners annually, informing the public about those journalists’ contributions and supporting journalism education and innovation,” for 80 years, according to the awards’ website.
“We’re so honored to see The 13th Step be recognized among so many other excellent pieces of high-impact public service journalism,” said NHPR’s Document senior editor Katie Colaneri. “It’s yet another testament to the power of this reporting, to (reporter/producer Lauren Chooljian’s) persistence in shining a light on this systemic abuse, despite many obstacles, and above all, to the courage of our sources.”
Other 2024 finalists include The New York Times and The Associated Press for coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine; CBS News’ 60 Minutes for its coverage of American withdrawal from Afghanistan; and WBUR for its coverage of a privacy law meant to help victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. The 13th Step chronicles allegations of sexual abuse by the founder of New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment center.
According to the duPont-Columbia awards website, every year about a dozen news stories and films are honored for the strength of their reporting, storytelling and impact in the public interest. The winning pieces are selected by the duPont jury from hundreds of entries vetted by a board of screeners.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony on Jan. 25, 2024, at Columbia’s Low Library in New York City.
The 13th Step is a production of the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, and received support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. NHPR supporters make it possible for the team to keep investigating and sharing these stories with you.
