Two Tampa TV stations have been awarded the DuPont Award from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. WFTS and WTSP were both awarded for investigative reports.
WFTS, ABC Action News, received the award for “Incapacitated: Florida’s Guardianship Program.” The piece was a long-form report on the Florida Guardianship Program that cares for elderly adults who don’t have family members to look after them in their later years. The report began with 99-year-old William Berchau who was placed into an Alzheimer’s unit despite reports that he didn’t belong there.
The WFTS I-Team looked into 50 other cases involving Berchau’s guardian and the program. Their findings uncovered cases in which judges have disregarded signed legal documents for power of attorney and medical decision-making. It also found that the guardians aren’t required to have homes appraised before selling them. That could lead to homes being sold for less than what they’re worth. The wards are also not required to be accompanied when inventorying a patient’s possessions and relatives aren’t always allowed to review what has been removed from the home. The review also found that guardians use the honor system when submitting bills.
“The I-Team interviewed friends and family members of wards, experts in the guardian field and others to get a deeper sense of what’s going on within this system that remains invisible to most members of the public,” WFTS wrote in its description of the report.
In the WTSP, 10 News report “Short Yellows and the Red Light Fight” was first revealed by reporter Noah Pransky. Pransky found that yellow lights were shorter than required by law and led to an increase in the number of red light camera citations.
The investigation led to a review by the city of St. Petersburg, which later corrected the timing problems.
“By exposing short yellow lights and other unsafe manipulations, we prompted the state to change its signal timing policies and legislators to re-write red light camera laws,” WTSP wrote on its website. “Our more than 60 stories in the series not only corrected injustices, but it made intersections safer and launched a national conversation about fairness of red light camera technology.
The city of St. Pete eventually canceled its red light camera program altogether, citing financial reasons, as the program was no longer paying for itself. There was no direct link to the yellow light timing, but the correction arguably reduced the number of citations issued at intersections affected.
According to Columbia University, “the duPont Jury looks for accurate and fair reporting about important issues that are powerfully told. Breaking news coverage, innovative storytelling and content, and stories that have an impact in the public interest are paramount.”
The DuPont-Columbia University Awards were established in 1942 in honor of the late Alfred I. DuPont and is supported by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.
