The Frontier and ProPublica series Fields of Green: Chinese Mafias and the U.S. Black Market for Marijuana was a finalist for IRE’s 2024 Tom Renner Award, which recognizes outstanding crime reporting.
IRE recognized Clifton Adcock and Garrett Yalch of The Frontier and Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg of ProPublica for their work on what the judges said was “a compelling investigation that uncovered how marijuana legalization in Oklahoma has opened up opportunities for organized crime.”
“Great use of public records and law enforcement sourcing that would have made Tom Renner proud,” the judges said. “The series explored the issue through a variety of angles, from crime boss rivalries to exploited workers to community members who feel the law enforcement response has led to racial profiling.”
Frontier Staff Writer Kayla Branch’s story Oklahoma sends a growing number of kids with complex needs out of state for treatment was awarded third place in the Health Policy category in the Association of Health Care Journalists’s 2024 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.
The contest recognizes the best of health care journalism.
In March, The Frontier and ProPublica’s series also won the Fort Worth Society of Professional Journalists’ First Amendment Award for Investigative News, which recognizes journalism that exemplifies press freedom, holds power to account, and gives voice to the disadvantaged in Texas and Oklahoma.
Judges praised Fields of Green as “an outstanding joint investigation from start to finish,” citing its “broad range of sourcing, analysis, and compelling storytelling on a critical topic with far-reaching impacts.” They said the series is “in a league of its own.”
