The Arizona Daily Star is a recipient of the 2011 Maria Moors Cabot Prizes for outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean - the oldest international award in journalism.
The award was announced Wednesday by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Other winners are:
• El Diario newspaper in Juárez, Mexico.
• Riodoce newspaper in Culiacán, Mexico.
• Carlos Dada, editor of elfaro.net in El Salvador.
• Jean-Michel Leprince, reporter Radio-Canada/CBC.
"More than anything, this year's Cabot Prizes celebrate journalists on the front lines - two small but courageous papers braving drug criminals in Mexico; a breakthrough digital newspaper blazing an independent and ethical trail in Central America; a Canadian broadcast journalist showing us scenes and stories of real life that too often do not appear on U.S. TV; and a medium-sized, regional U.S. paper straining its resources to give its readers deep and nuanced coverage of the U.S.-Mexico border," Columbia Journalism School Dean Nicholas Lemann said in the announcement.
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The Star submission included projects on the impact of immigration from 2000, when Arizona became a focal point of illegal immigration, through 2010.
Among the projects judged were: "Smuggling Children," "Behind the Immigration Rhetoric" and "Decade of Death."
"The Star has fulfilled its responsibilities with distinction," the Cabot Prize board said. "It has run a steady stream of major enterprise stories and series for the last decade that have explored the issue in all its complications and human dimensions - not just its sensational aspects.
"In a confusing political cacophony of shouting voices in Arizona, the Daily Star is a force for fact-based sanity."
John M. Humenik, president and publisher of the Star, said, "The Cabot Prize is among the most treasured awards in journalism. We truly are honored, as it underscores our unwavering commitment to publish the highest-quality and most meaningful content about our border with Mexico.
"We understand that responsibility knowing that the topic - a local one - generates enormous national and international interest. It also spurs endless debate that includes our informed commentary."
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