Polk Awards: Piercing the Veil of Secrecy

Seminar Description

Dana Priest, reporter, The Washington Post, won for "Top Secret America," that cast a light into the shadows of the enormous ecosystem of military, intelligence and corporate interests spawned in the decade after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Michael Hastings, Rolling Stone, won for "The Runaway General," a history-making piece that prompted President Obama’s dismissal of U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal as commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

A.C. Thompson, ProPublica, won for "Law and Disorder," a monumental collaborative effort that took an in-depth and unwavering look at the controversial and often brutal actions taken by the New Orleans Police Dept in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.