Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)

Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), announced the winners of their 2020 awards this week.

The two stations earned excellence in journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. WKBW’s award is for its investigation into child sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Western New York. KNXV’s award is for its investigative series inside a local Arizona police department which exposed a corrupt culture that protected officers and misled the public.

As a result of its initial reporting, a source within the Buffalo diocese agreed to work with WKBW investigative reporter Charlie Specht and photojournalist Jeff Wick, providing the investigative team with evidence of a church cover-up.