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Robert L. Bartley: 1937-2003. The Wall Street Journal
In: Lives 01 Apr 2013 0 comments
Robert Bartley

Robert Bartley

By Yoon Jeung Eum

A martini-loving tennis player was one of the most influential editorial writers of the 20th century.

As editor of the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal for 25 years, Robert Bartley had a great platform to influence other people. As Bartley puts it in his letter of recognition written in 2003, “My proudest boast is that I’ve run the only editorial page in the country that actually sells newspapers.”

Bartley loved America, and wished freedom of the people through free markets. He was an avid advocate of capitalism and strong national security for the United States. He could foresee the worldly dynamics through his deep insight.

Bartley was born in 1937 and raised in Marshall, Minn., where Republican sentiment widely prevailed at the time. Bartley worked in the Chicago bureau when he joined The Journal in 1962. Three years later, he joined the editorial page, which he took over in 1972.

Bartley believed that editorial pages should not only provide perspectives on a matter, but also be a page for independent reporting. Only through avid search for truth could one have an opinion on an issue. He also expanded the op-ed pages of The Journal to discuss not only socioeconomic affairs but also arts, culture, and leisure.

“Bob Bartley admirably studied the subject and talked to people who knew the best about the issue,” said Peter Kann, the former chief executive officer of Dow Jones & Co. and a long-time journalist at The Journal.

Bartley felt strongly about macroeconomic issues and nsational security. He strongly influenced the economic policy agenda of the Reagan administration. Bartley was the primary advocate for the supply-side stimulation and a believer of predictable and stable currency.

Until the early 1980s, the U.S. government believed in raising taxes to achieve a balanced budget. Perhaps influenced by the Nobel laureate economist Robert Mundell, Bartley challenged the conventional wisdom and suggested that the government cut marginal tax rates to stimulate the economy to allow greater flexibility of the economy. Bartley helped to popularize the policy application of the supply-side economics.

He was also skeptical of arms control. While the voices to disarm were prevalent after the long-lasting Cold War era, Bartley firmly believed in staying fully armed as a nation. He believed that communism would not last much longer, and that it was going to fall apart from its internal feud. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1992.

Although The Journal is perceived to be near-biblical channel of communication for big businesses and corporations, Bartley was a proponent of small businesses for they encourage market competition.

In his piece titled “Down with Big Business” published on April 18, 1979, Bartley argued that “the very biggest businesses are such unreliable allies in the fight to preserve a free enterprise economy. . .Historically capitalist economies have prospered through competition, innovation and particularly a sensitive price mechanism transmitting unimaginably efficient signals for less production here and more investment there.”

While Bartley engaged in discussion of controversial issues through his editorial writing and as an editor of The Journal, he never confronted others for holding a different view; He would politely listen and say “that’s a point of view” –a gentle expression of disagreement.

He was also a trustworthy and reliable person. He stayed as a loyal employee and trustworthy editor for those whom he works with. “When his employees got in trouble, he stood up for them. He never bad-mouthed those around him, and I am yet to hear anyone speak badly of him,” said Thomas Bray, who worked on The Journal’s editorial page from 1976 to 1983.

In contrast to the common perception of him being a quiet and reserved person, Bartley was always a busy, active man.

“I could just see his brain working, just thinking – his mind was very busy at work, and often he was deeply occupied with his critical thinking to speak. He truly thought before he spoke,” said Edith Bartley, his wife. She also told that he loved talking politics over martinis and was a competitive ping-pong and tennis player.

Looking at how the world is shaped now, Bartley’s insightful opinions seemed as if he could foresee the world. Bartley shaped the landscape of editorial writing of the modern newspaper and had huge impact on the public policy of the United States through his writing.

Bartley won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1980. Bartley also won a Medal of Freedom a week before he passed away. He died in December 2003 from cancer.

Yoon Jeung Eum is an economics major from South Korea in the Class of 2013 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

By Gretchen Morgenson
In: Essay 01 Apr 2013 0 comments
Gretchen Morgenson

Gretchen Morgenson

Born on Jan. 2, 1956, in Bellefonte, Pa. She spent three years on Wall Street and has been a financial reporter since 1984. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her “trenchant and incisive” reporting on Wall Street. She writes the Fair Game column for The New York Times and is co-author of the best-selling book on the financial crisis, “Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed and Corruption Created the Worst Financial Crisis of Our Time.”

One of the questions I almost always get when I address an audience on the 2008 financial crisis is this: Why didn’t the financial press sound more of a warning about the dangers that were lurking in the economy in general and housing in particular?

It is a frustrating question not only because it is a criticism of our work but also because it is accurate to some degree. Few financial reporters did enough to question the conventional wisdom leading up to the crisis — that housing prices never go down nationwide, that Wall Street’s newfangled securities defused rather than increased risk, that big banks could monitor themselves without help from regulators.

But more important, this audience question provides business reporters with clarity on what it is that readers want. Indeed, it confirms that readers seek groundbreaking and insightful reporting and analysis on events or actions that affect the economy, their investments and their pocketbooks.

And, as the world of finance and business becomes increasingly complex — who could have fathomed a decade ago the creation of collateralized debt obligations embedded with synthetic mortgage instruments? — penetrating analyses and clear explanatory writing become even more important.

Put another way, readers don’t want business reporters to be court stenographers, recording without question the utterances of chief executives and their public relations operatives. They don’t want rewritten press releases or fawning profiles. Readers want articles that can help them understand the complexities that Wall Street creates, that shine a light on the dark corners where questionable business practices often flourish.

Such reporting is not easy. It attracts criticism from powerful people who prefer to operate amid the fog. It induces attacks from those interested in maintaining the status quo. It generates angry calls to editors and publishers.

As a result, it could not be more important.

Providing readers with genuine insights about complex matters requires a dedication to the truth and a spine of steel, of course, not only from reporters, but also from their editors.

Only then will readers stop wondering: “Hey, where was the financial media when we needed them?”

Pulitzer Prizes in Business Journalism
In: Awards 01 Apr 2013 0 comments

1919, Public Service: The Milwaukee Journal, for its strong and courageous campaign for Americanism in a constituency where foreign elements made such a policy hazardous from a business point of view.

1920, Reporting: John J. Leary of New York World, for the series of articles written during the national coal strike in the winter of 1919.

1921, Public Service: The Boston Post, for its exposure of the operations of Charles Ponzi by a series of articles which finally led to his arrest.

1929, Reporting: Paul Y. Anderson of St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for his highly effective work in bringing to light a situation which resulted in revealing the disposition of Liberty Bonds purchased and distributed by the Continental Trading Company in connection with naval oil leases.

1930, Correspondence: Leland Stowe of New York Herald Tribune, for the series of articles covering conferences on reparations and the establishment of the international bank.

1932, Correspondence: Charles G. Ross of St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for his article entitled, “The Country’s Plight — What Can Be Done About It?” — a discussion of economic situation of the United States.

1939, Reporting: Thomas Lunsford Stokes of Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance, for his series of articles on alleged intimidation of workers for the Works Progress Administration in Pennsylvania and Kentucky during an election. The articles were published in The New York World-Telegram.

1941, Reporting: Westbrook Pegler of New York World-Telegram, for his articles on scandals in the ranks of organized labor, which led to the exposure and conviction of George Scalise, a labor racketeer.

1942, Telegraphic Reporting: Louis Stark of The New York Times, for his distinguished reporting of important labor stories during the year.

1947, Editorial Writing: William H. Grimes of The Wall Street Journal, for his distinguished editorial writing during the year.

1948, Public Service: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for the coverage of the Centralia, Illinois, mine disaster and the follow-up which resulted in impressive reforms in mine safety laws and regulations.

1951, Local Reporting: Edward S. Montgomery of San Francisco Examiner, for his series of articles on tax frauds which culminated in an expose within the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

1952, Public Service: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for its investigation and disclosures of wide spread corruption in the Internal Revenue Bureau and other departments of the government.

1953, Editorial Writing: Vermont Connecticut Royster of The Wall Street Journal, for distinguished editorial writing during the year.

1953, International Reporting: Austin Wehrwein of The Milwaukee Journal, for writing a 25-part series called ‘Canada’s New Century.’ His stories told of Canadian economic development from the point of view of the everyday citizen. Wehrwein reported from the nation’s wheat fields and pulpwood forests, new natural gas and oil fields, developing mine operations, the docks of Toronto and Montreal, and the port of Vancouver.

1955, Editorial Writing: Royce Howes of Detroit Free Press, for an editorial on “The Cause of a Strike,” impartially and clearly analyzing the responsibility of both labor and management for a local union’s unauthorized strike in July, 1954, which rendered 45,000 Chrysler Corporation workers idle and unpaid. By pointing out how and why the parent United Automobile Workers’ Union ordered the local strike called off and stating that management let dissatisfaction get out of hand, the editorial made a notable contribution to public understanding of the whole program of the respective responsibilities and relationships of labor and management in this field.

1956, Local Reporting: Lee Hills of Detroit Free Press, for his aggressive, resourceful and comprehensive front page reporting of the United Automobile Workers’ negotiations with Ford and General Motors for a guaranteed annual wage.

1957, Local Reporting: Wallace Turner and William Lamber of Portland Oregonian, for their expose of vice and corruption in Portland involving some municipal officials and officers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Western Conference. They fulfilled their assignments despite great handicaps and the risk of reprisal from lawless elements.

1958, National Reporting: Clark Mollenhoff of Des Moines Register and Tribune, for his persistent inquiry into labor racketeering, which included investigatory reporting of wide significance.

1959, Local Reporting: John Harold Brislin of Scranton (PA) Tribune and Scrantonian, for displaying courage, initiative and resourcefulness in his effective four-year campaign to halt labor violence in his home city, as a result of which ten corrupt union officials were sent to jail and a local union was embolden to clean out racketeering elements.

1959, National Reporting: Howard Van Smith of The Miami (FL) News, for a series of articles that focused public notice on deplorable conditions in a Florida migrant labor camp, resulted in the provision of generous assistance for the 4,000 stranded workers in the camp, and thereby called attention to the national problem presented by 1,500,000 migratory laborers.

1960, Local Reporting: Miriam Ottenberg of The Evening Star, Washington, DC, for a series of seven articles exposing a used-car racket in Washington, D.C., that victimized many unwary buyers. The series led to new regulations to protect the public and served to alert other communities to such sharp practices.

1961, National Reporting: Edward R. Cony of The Wall Street Journal, for his analysis of a timber transaction which drew the attention of the public to the problems of business ethics.

Pulitzer1962, National Reporting: Nathan G. Caldwell and Gene S. Graham of Nashville Tennessean, for their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the United Mine Workers.

1964, Local, General or Spot News Reporting: Norman C. Miller of The Wall Street Journal, for his comprehensive account of a multi-million dollar vegetable oil swindle in New Jersey.

1965, National Reporting: Louis M. Kohlmeier of The Wall Street Journal, for his enterprise in reporting the growth of the fortune of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his family.

1965, International Reporting: J. A. Livingston of the  Philadelphia Bulletin, for his reports on the growth of economic independence among Russia’s Eastern European satellites and his analysis of their desire for a resumption of trade with the West.

1967, Public Service: Louisville Courier-Journal, for its successful campaign to control the Kentucky strip mining industry, a notable advance in the national effort for the conservation of natural resources.

1967, National Reporting: Stanley Penn and Monroe Karmin of The Wall Street Journal, for their investigative reporting of the connection between American crime and gambling in the Bahamas.

1968, National Reporting: Nathan K. (Nick) Kotz of Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Tribune, for his reporting of unsanitary conditions in many meat packing plants, which helped insure the passage of the Federal Wholesome Meat Act of 1967.

1969, Local Investigative Specialized Reporting: Albert L. Delugach and Denny Walsh of St. Louis Globe-Democrat, for their campaign against fraud and abuse of power within the St. Louis Steamfitters Union, Local 562.

1970, Local Investigative Specialized Reporting: Montgomery Advertiser and Alabama Journal, for its expose of a commercial scheme for using Alabama prisoners for drug experimentation and obtaining blood plasma from them.

1971, Public Service: Winston-Salem (NC) Journal and Sentinel, for coverage of environmental problems, as exemplified by a successful campaign to block strip mining operation that would have caused irreparable damage to the hill country of northwest North Carolina.

1972, International Reporting: Peter R. Kann of The Wall Street Journal, for his coverage of the Indo Pakistan War of 1971.

1975, National Reporting: Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for their series “Auditing the Internal Revenue Service,” which exposed the unequal application of Federal tax laws.

1976, Public Service: Anchorage Daily News, for its disclosures of the impact and influence of the Teamsters Union on Alaska’s economy and politics.

1976, National Reporting: James Risser of Des Moines Register, for disclosing large-scale corruption in the American grain exporting trade.

1979, Local Investigative Specialized Reporting: Gilbert M. Gaul and Elliot G. Jaspin of Pottsville (PA) Republican, for stories on the destruction of the Blue Coal Company by men with ties to organized crime.

1980, Local General or Spot News Reporting: Staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for coverage of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island.

1980, Editorial Writing: Robert L. Bartley of The Wall Street Journal.

1984, Feature Writing: Peter Mark Rinearson of The Seattle Times, for “Making It Fly,” his account of the new Boeing 757 jetliner.

1984, Commentary: Vermont Royster of The Wall Street Journal.

1984, International Reporting: Karen Elliott House of The Wall Street Journal, for her extraordinary series of interviews with Jordan’s King Hussein which correctly anticipated the problems that would confront the Reagan administration’s Middle East peace plan.

1985, General News Reporting: Thomas Turcol of Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star, Norfolk, Va., for City Hall coverage which exposed the corruption of a local economic development official.

1985, National Reporting: Thomas J. Knudson of Des Moines Register, for his series of articles that examined the dangers of farming as an occupation.

1986, National Reporting: Arthur Howe of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for his enterprising and indefatigable reporting on massive deficiencies in IRS processing of tax returns-reporting that eventually inspired major changes in IRS procedures and prompted the agency to make a public apology to U.S. taxpayers.

1986, Feature Writing: John Camp of St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, for his five-part series examining the life of an American farm family faced with the worst U.S. agricultural crisis since the Depression.

1987, Public Service: The Pittsburgh Press, for reporting by Andrew Schneider and Matthew Brelis, which revealed the inadequacy of the FAA’s medical screening of airline pilots and led to significant reforms.

1987, General News Reporting: Staff of Akron Beacon Journal, for its coverage, under deadline pressure, of the attempted takeover of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. by a European financier.

1987, Specialized Reporting: Alex S. Jones of The New York Times, for “The Fall of the House of Bingham,” a skillful and sensitive report of a powerful newspaper family’s bickering and how it led to the sale of a famed media empire.

1988, Explanatory Journalism: Daniel Hertzberg and James B. Stewart of The Wall Street Journal, for their stories about an investment banker charged with insider trading and the critical day that followed the October 19, 1987, stock market crash.

1988, Specialized Reporting: Walt Bogdanich of The Wall Street Journal, for his chilling series of reports on faulty testing by American medical laboratories.

1989, Investigative Reporting: Bill Dedman of The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, for his investigation of the racial discrimination practiced by lending institutions in Atlanta, reporting which led to significant reforms in those policies.

1989, National Reporting: Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele of The Philadelphia Inquirer, for their 15-month investigation of “rifle shot” provisions in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a series that aroused such widespread public indignation that Congress subsequently rejected proposals giving special tax breaks to many politically connected individuals and businesses.

1990, Public Service: The Philadelphia Inquirer, for reporting by Gilbert M. Gaul that disclosed how the American blood industry operates with little government regulation or supervision.

1990, Explanatory Journalism: David A. Vise and Steve Coll of The Washington Post, for stories scrutinizing the Securities and Exchange Commission and the way it has been affected by the policies of its former chairman, John Shad.

Backlash Faludi 19911991, Explanatory Journalism: Susan C. Faludi (right) of The Wall Street Journal, for a report on the leveraged buy-out of Safeway Stores Inc., that revealed the human costs of high finance.

1993, Public Service: The Miami Herald, for coverage that not only helped readers cope with Hurricane Andrew’s devastation but also showed how lax zoning, inspection and building codes had contributed to the destruction.

1993, Beat Reporting: Paul Ingrassia and Joseph B. White of The Wall Street Journal, for often exclusive coverage of General Motors’ management turmoil.

1995, National Reporting: Awarded to Tony Horwitz of The Wall Street Journal for stories about working conditions in low-wage America.

1995, Feature Writing: Awarded to Ron Suskind of The Wall Street Journal for his stories about inner-city honor students in Washington, D.C., and their determination to survive and prosper.

1996, Public Service: Awarded to The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC, for the work of Melanie Sill, Pat Stith and Joby Warrick on the environmental and health risks of waste disposal systems used in North Carolina’s growing hog industry.

1996, National Reporting: Awarded to Alix M. Freedman of The Wall Street Journal for her coverage of the tobacco industry, including a report that exposed how ammonia additives heighten nicotine potency.

1997, Beat Reporting: Awarded to Byron Acohido of The Seattle Times for his coverage of the aerospace industry, notably an exhaustive investigation of rudder control problems on the Boeing 737, which contributed to new FAA requirements for major improvements.

1999 Angelo Henderson (left) Pulitzer SABEW1997, National Reporting: Awarded to The Wall Street Journal staff for its coverage of the struggle against AIDS in all of its aspects, the human, the scientific and the business, in light of promising treatments for the disease.

1998, Investigative Reporting: Awarded to Gary Cohn and Will Englund of The Baltimore Sun for their compelling series on the international shipbreaking industry, that revealed the dangers posed to workers and the environment when discarded ships are dismantled.

1999, Feature Writing: Angelo Henderson (right) of The Wall Street Journal for his portrait of a druggist who is driven to violence by his encounters with armed robbery, illustrating the lasting effects of crime.

1999, Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to Richard Read of The Oregonian, Portland, for vividly illustrating the domestic impact of the Asian economic crisis by profiling the local industry that exports frozen french fries.

1999, National Reporting: Awarded to The New York Times staff and notably Jeff Gerth, for a series of articles that disclosed the corporate sale of American technology to China, with U.S. government approval despite national security risks, prompting investigations and significant changes in policy.

1999, Beat Reporting: Awarded to Chuck Philips and Michael A. Hiltzik of Los Angeles Times for their stories on corruption in the entertainment industry, including a charity sham sponsored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, illegal detoxification programs for wealthy celebrities, and a resurgence of radio payola.

2000, National Reporting: Awarded to The Wall Street Journal staff for its revealing stories that question U.S. defense spending and military deployment in the post-Cold War era and offer alternatives for the future.

2000, Commentary: Awarded to Paul A. Gigot of The Wall Street Journal for his informative and insightful columns on politics and government.

2001, Investigative Reporting: Awarded to David Willman of Los Angeles Times for his pioneering exposé of seven unsafe prescription drugs that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and an analysis of the policy reforms that had reduced the agency’s effectiveness.

2001, Beat Reporting: Awarded to David Cay Johnston of The New York Times for his penetrating and enterprising reporting that exposed loopholes and inequities in the U.S. tax code, which was instrumental in bringing about reforms.

2001, International Reporting: Awarded to Ian Johnson of The Wall Street Journal for his revealing stories from China about victims of the government’s often brutal suppression of the Falun Gong movement and the implications of that campaign for the future.

2001, Commentary: Awarded to Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal for her articles on American society and culture.

2002, Breaking News Reporting: Awarded to The Wall Street Journal staff for its comprehensive and insightful coverage, executed under the most difficult circumstances, of the terrorist attack on New York City, which recounted the day’s events and their implications for the future.

2002, Beat Reporting: Awarded to Gretchen Morgenson of The New York Times for her trenchant and incisive Wall Street coverage.

2003, Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to The Wall Street Journal staff for its clear, concise and comprehensive stories that illuminated the roots, significance and impact of corporate scandals in America. (Moved by the jury from the Public Service category.)

2004, Public Service: Awarded to The New York Times for the work of David Barstow and Lowell Bergman that relentlessly examined death and injury among American workers and exposed employers who break basic safety rules. (Moved by the Board from the Investigative Reporting category, where it was also entered.)

2004, Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to Kevin Helliker and Thomas M. Burton of The Wall Street Journal for their groundbreaking examination of aneurysms, an often overlooked medical condition that kills thousands of Americans each year.

2004, Beat Reporting: Awarded to Daniel Golden of The Wall Street Journal for his compelling and meticulously documented stories on admission preferences given to the children of alumni and donors at American universities.

2004, Criticism: Awarded to Dan Neil of Los Angeles Times for his one-of-a-kind reviews of automobiles, blending technical expertise with offbeat humor and astute cultural observations.

2004, National Reporting: Awarded to the Los Angeles Times staff for its engrossing examination of the tactics that have made Wal-Mart the largest company in the world with cascading effects across American towns and developing countries.

2005, Beat Reporting: Awarded to Amy Dockser Marcus of The Wall Street Journal for her masterful stories about patients, families and physicians that illuminated the often unseen world of cancer survivors.

2005, National Reporting: Awarded to Walt Bogdanich of The New York Times for his heavily documented stories about the corporate cover-up of responsibility for fatal accidents at railway crossings.

2007, Public Service: Awarded to The Wall Street Journal for its creative and comprehensive probe into backdated stock options for business executives that triggered investigations, the ouster of top officials and widespread change in corporate America.

2007, International Reporting: Awarded to The Wall Street Journal staff for its sharply edged reports on the adverse impact of China’s booming capitalism on conditions ranging from inequality to pollution.

2008, Investigative Reporting: Awarded to Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker of The New York Times for their stories on toxic ingredients in medicine and other everyday products imported from China, leading to crackdowns by American and Chinese officials.

2008, Commentary: Awarded to Steven Pearlstein of The Washington Post for his insightful columns that explore the nation’s complex economic ills with masterful clarity.

2008, Editorial Cartooning: Awarded to Michael Ramirez of Investor’s Business Daily for his provocative cartoons that rely on originality, humor and detailed artistry.

2009, Public Service: Awarded to the Las Vegas Sun, and notably the courageous reporting by Alexandra Berzon, for the exposure of the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip amid lax enforcement of regulations, leading to changes in policy and improved safety conditions.

2010, Public Service: Awarded to the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier for the work of Daniel Gilbert in illuminating the murky mismanagement of natural-gas royalties owed to thousands of land owners in southwest Virginia, spurring remedial action by state lawmakers.

2010, Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to Michael Moss and members of The New York Times Staff for relentless reporting on contaminated hamburger and other food safety issues that, in print and online, spotlighted defects in federal regulation and led to improved practices. (Moved by the Board from the Investigative Reporting category.)

2010, National Reporting: Awarded to Matt Richtel and members of The New York Times Staff for incisive work, in print and online, on the hazardous use of cell phones, computers and other devices while operating cars and trucks, stimulating widespread efforts to curb distracted driving.

2011, Investigative Reporting: Awarded to Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for her examination of weaknesses in the murky property-insurance system vital to Florida homeowners, providing handy data to assess insurer reliability and stirring regulatory action.

2011, National Reporting: Awarded to Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica for their exposure of questionable practices on Wall Street that contributed to the nation’s economic meltdown, using digital tools to help explain the complex subject to lay readers.

2011, Commentary: Awarded to David Leonhardt of The New York Times for his graceful penetration of America’s complicated economic questions, from the federal budget deficit to health care reform.

2011, Editorial Writing: Awarded to Joseph Rago of The Wall Street Journal for his well crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Obama.

2012, Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to David Kocieniewski of The New York Times for his lucid series that penetrated a legal thicket to explain how the nation’s wealthiest citizens and corporations often exploited loopholes and avoided taxes.

2013, Investigative Reporting: Awarded to David Barstow and Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab of The New York Times for their reports on how Wal-Mart used widespread bribery to dominate the market in Mexico, resulting in changes in company practices.

2013: Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to The New York Times staff for its penetrating look into business practices by Apple and other technology companies that illustrates the darker side of a changing global economy for workers and consumers.

2013: Commentary: Awarded to Bret Stephens of The Wall Street Journal for his incisive columns on American foreign policy and domestic politics, often enlivened by a contrarian twist.

2014: Explanatory Reporting: Awarded to Zachary R. Mider of Bloomberg News for a painstaking, clear and entertaining explanation of how so many U.S. corporations dodge taxes and why lawmakers and regulators have a hard time stopping them.

2014: Investigative Reporting: Awarded to the The Wall Street Journal staff for “Medicare Unmasked,” a pioneering project that gave Americans unprecedented access to previously confidential data on the motivations and practices of their health care providers.

2015: Public Service: Awarded to the Associated Press, for an investigation of severe labor abuses tied to the supply of seafood to American supermarkets and restaurants, reporting that freed 2,000 slaves, brought perpetrators to justice and inspired reforms.