Three reporters from Center for Public Integrity won Dateline Awards for their online work “Hidden Hardship: Immigrant and Foreign Food Workers Toil, and Die, in Obscurity”
Here are their comments on winning and why they worked so hard on this story.
Susan Ferriss, senior reporter: “It was disturbing to find it so hard to even document the COVID deaths of immigrants and foreign workers on temporary visas who are essential to American food production. We were gratified that federal lawmakers circulated our stories, and our national map that shows, county by county, how much Americans rely on these workers.
Joe Yerardi, data reporter: “I’m grateful for the DC chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for honoring Hidden Hardship. The sacrifices of immigrants toiling to produce our country’s food — and the hypocrisy of a political establishment that treats them with such disdain — is a story worth telling.”
Taylor Johnston, data fellow: Hidden Hardship was my first major project assigned during my fellowship at The Center for Public Integrity. Having the opportunity to visualize such an important topic and being able to work alongside amazing reporters will always be my favorite part of my experience there.