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New Times staff writer John Dougherty is the winner of a 2006 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for his series “Polygamy in Arizona.”
A 14-year New Times veteran, Dougherty will be awarded the medal for non-daily publications, along with a $1,000 prize, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on September 7.
There was no runner-up in the non-daily category for the medal, awarded each year by the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families. Jonathan Kaminsky, a freelancer for Village Voice Media’s East Bay Express, received an honorable mention.
In awarding the prize to Dougherty, the judges said New Times‘ “commitment to covering — and uncovering — the story of how a sect of fundamentalist Mormon polygamists took over a town didn’t just make for compelling reading, it was important work, revealing shockingly widespread sexual abuse, pedophilia and misuse of public funds that had gone on for years.
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“This body of work shows lots of shoe-leather and determination. Authorities looked the other way and probably would have continued to do so, had it not been for the newspaper’s comprehensive, persistent and passionate coverage. It was a tough story to get, and New Times should be applauded for stepping in where authorities failed to go.”