The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Doctors & Sex Abuse investigation has won a regional award for investigative reporting. The Society of Professional Journalists this week announced the AJC's grand prize in the Larry Peterson Memorial Award for Investigative Reporting, given to quality investigative reporting in broadcast, print, online or radio for the organization's Region 3, which includes several Southern states.
The investigative series, which launched in July, revealed that doctor sex abuse is far more common than has previously been acknowledged and that medical regulators in every state tend to forgive doctors involved in sexual misconduct and return them to practice. Of the 2,400 physicians the AJC identified who were accused of sexual misconduct involving patients, half were still practicing when the series launched. Medical regulators often put the emphasis on protecting doctors, rather than protecting patients.
The series continues through year's end. An installment this week reveals widespread gaps in patient protection and an analysis of every state's laws and procedures.
Also receiving a grand prize, in the collegiate category, was The Georgia News Lab, a student organization, for an investigative reporting project published in the AJC about judges flouting state ethics laws and avoiding fines. The news lab is a partnership between Georgia universities and colleges, the AJC and WSB-TV to offer training in investigative reporting to students.
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