WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVF) — NewsChannel 5 chief investigative reporter Phil Williams has received one of political journalism's highest honors, the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, for his on-going "Revealed" investigation of Tennessee's Capitol Hill.
The winners of the annual Toner Prizes were announced by Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications during a ceremony on March 27 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington.
Williams, who was recognized with the 2023 Toner Prize for local political reporting, is the first television journalist to ever receive a coveted Toner Prize.
“It is so hard to crack into the secretive world of campaign cash and lobbying in a state capital — and nearly impossible to do it on video," said Toner judge Christina Bellantoni, professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and former political reporter and editor for The Los Angeles Times.
"But somehow Phil Williams managed to do just that in this brilliant series shining light on state lawmaker practices and crisply showing viewers exactly HOW legislation is shaped and the exact questionable practices that are difficult to put into clear journalistic examples in any medium.
"I’m blown away by these pieces and will be using them to teach.”
Beginning in February 2022 and continuing into 2023, the "Revealed" investigation shined a light on how Capitol Hill really works, giving viewers unprecedented insight into a legislative process where Tennessee’s supermajority depends on well-financed special interests to maintain power and, in turn, often does the bidding of those special interests.
So far, that effort has resulted in more than 50 individual stories and a one-hour documentary.
Judge Beverly Kirk, director of Washington Programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said "this is what a great local news investigation looks like."
"Documentaries like this one are not done nearly enough. It is excellent! It informs residents about what their lawmakers are doing and who has influence and power over them," Kirk added.
The Toner announcement noted that "the exhaustive 'Revealed' investigation was based on a simple premise: citizens cannot fully understand how the system can be fixed unless they understand how it really works."
In accepting the honor, Williams acknowledged the team effort behind the project.
That includes photojournalists Bryan Staples, Mike Rose and Bob Stinnett, along with producer Kevin Wisniewski. Assistant news director Michelle Bonnett supervised the investigation. Sandy Boonstra is NewsChannel 5's news director, and Lyn Plantinga is its general manager.
Reflecting on the "Revealed" investigation, Williams noted that it has demonstrated the need for aggressive reporting on state legislatures across the country.
"For me, the lesson has been that there is an urgent need for news organizations to treat political reporting at the statehouse level as an investigative beat," he explained, "to report not only what is happening but to explain why, to show who is financing these legislative battles and to understand the ultimate agenda.
"If we do that, if we can shine the light on how our broken political system affects real people, it is my hope that the people will indeed find their way."
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, delivered the keynote speech for the Toner Prize ceremony, and CNN anchor and senior political correspondent Abby Phillip served as master of ceremonies.
Politico won the 2023 Toner Prize for national political reporting for its reporting on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision granting abortion rights.
The outlet published a PDF of the initial draft majority opinion, which was circulated inside the court and continued its reporting on potential conflicts of interest involving the justices.
“It was the political story of the year, and the extraordinary leak reverberated nationally and locally, galvanizing women and demonstrating the degree conservatives have shaped the judiciary," said judge Maralee Schwartz, retired political editor of The Washington Post.
"And it opened the window into how the Supreme Court operates, especially highlighting silent conflicts of interests."
The awards, along with the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting at the Newhouse School, are named after Robin Toner, a 1976 graduate of Syracuse University and the first woman to serve as national political correspondent of The New York Times.
SPECIAL SECTION: Revealed
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