Daily Detroit News: Kara Berg, a reporter for the Detroit News, was recently recognized by the Michigan Press Association Foundation. She received the 2024 Wade H. McCree Advancement of Justice Award, along with three other journalists.
Berg won a journalism award on Sunday in East Lansing for her special series called “Michigan Kids keep dying on Child Protective Services’ watch.” The series investigated and documented several cases of child abuse and neglect in the state’s Children’s Protective Services.
In a statement, officials from the MPA Foundation said that Berg’s reporting provided possible solutions for policymakers to consider as they work on their own investigations and seek justice for the victims of child abuse and neglect.
“According to MPA Foundation officials, Kara noticed a trend in her years of reporting. She found cases where children were seriously hurt or died after people like family and friends reported them to CPS. However, the investigators either looked into the cases or ignored them,” the officials said.
“A 5-year-old boy was found dead in a house in suburban Detroit. The house was called the ‘house of horrors’ by his aunt. Kara decided to investigate how the state agency was dealing with the repeated abuse allegations.”
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Lauren Gibbons, a reporter from Bridge Michigan, Andrea Sahouri from the Detroit Free Press, and Heather Catallo from WXYZ-TV (Ch. 7) were among the winners of the award given to Berg. The McCree awards are given to journalists who have made significant contributions to journalism by providing informative content and making a positive impact on the legal and law enforcement systems. This was stated by the press association foundation.
The winners were chosen at the 2024 Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame dinner, which took place at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. The winners were chosen by a group of three judges who specialize in law and media. They reviewed and selected the winners from a pool of 11 entries from all over Michigan.
Three former News staffers, Eric Freedman, John Bebow, and Molly Abraham, were also honored at the event. They were inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.
The McCree award is named after Judge Wade H. McCree (1920-87), who believed in the importance of the press in a free society. He served as a federal judge, law professor, and U.S. solicitor general.
In April 2020, Karen Bouffard, a former News reporter, received an award for her investigation called “Healing Justice.” The investigation focused on mental health services and incarceration in America.
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