Johnathan Walker:InsideClimate News Wins SABEW Awards for Business Journalism for Agriculture, Military Series

Three InsideClimate News projects have Johnathan Walkerbeen honored for outstanding business journalism, with the series Harvesting Peril: Extreme Weather and Climate Change on the American Farm winning top honors for explanatory reporting for small market and Dangers Without Borders: Military Readiness in a Warming World winning top honors for government reporting for small market.

The news story Surrounded by Oil Fields, an Alaska Village Fears for Its Health, about the town of Nuiqsut, was also awarded an honorable mention in The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) Best in Business awards.

Harvesting Peril describes how the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation’s largest farm lobby, has worked to undermine climate science and derail climate policy, putting at risk the very farmers it represents. The stories were reported and written by Georgina Gustin, John H. Cushman, Jr., and Neela Banerjee after months of investigation. They included in-depth graphic art by Paul Horn and explanatory video by Anna Belle Peevey. The series previously won two first-place awards from the North American Agricultural Journalists association.

The SABEW judges wrote: “This stunning series takes you inside agriculture’s role as perpetrator and victim of climate change. Exceptionally well done, including a look inside the power of Farm Bureau. The package explains how farms can be part of the solution.” The series shared first place honors with the Project on Government Oversight’s Drilling Down series.

Dangers Without Borders, an ongoing ICN series, examines the ways in which threats to national security are being multiplied by climate change—from how rising seas, flooding and other extreme climatic events threaten military bases and infrastructure to how destabilizing weather worsens tensions abroad that could draw in U.S. forces.

The judges said they “were impressed by InsideClimate News’ sheer scope and ambition with this project. Stories were written clearly and in real, not hypothetical terms—a difficult feat considering this is about a threat often discussed in the future tense. We loved the graphics and visuals, which aided the presentation.”

The story on health concerns in the village of Nuiqsut, a community in the midst of Alaska’s most prolific oil region, was by Sabrina Shankman and was honored in the health/science reporting category. The judges wrote: “InsideClimate News’ piece hooks you from the start with its blend of anecdotes and facts and excellent writing. The story also made good use of visual elements to tell us a big story about a small town.”

SABEW’s annual Best in Business competition recognizes outstanding business journalism. This year, judges selected winners from 946 entries from news organizations across all platforms, including from international, national and regional news outlets and specialized business publications.