Cox Media Group investigative teams, including KIRO 7′s Jesse Jones, named Pulitzer Prize finalist

The KIRO 7 News investigative team, including Jesse Jones, Cox Media Group, and KFF Health News, were recognized Monday as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service, one of the most prestigious of the Pulitzer.

This is a historic achievement for CMG, which is the first local broadcast media company to receive this honor.

“Being a Pulitzer Prize finalist is strong validation for the value of our investments in local news and investigative journalism on a national level,” said Marian Pittman, President of Content for CMG. “We’re honored to be included among this elite group of journalists recognized today.”

CMG and KFF were recognized for their work in meticulously detailing the systemic overpayment of vulnerable Americans by the Social Security Administration (SSA), totaling billions of dollars. The SSA followed those overpayments with demands for quick reimbursement, with some repayments reaching tens of thousands of dollars.

Since CMG and KFF began investigating the SSA, pivotal policy changes have been implemented, underscoring the profound influence of journalism in shaping outcomes that benefit millions of people. In March 2024, the SSA announced internal changes to stop withholding 100% of people’s benefits to recoup overpayments. The agency vowed to make its notices easier to understand, to shift the burden of proof to the agency instead of beneficiaries, and it’s now considering limiting how far back in time the agency can reach to recover overpayments.

“We couldn’t allow this injustice to continue,” said Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley in an interview with CMG in March. “Sometimes it takes a crisis. Sometimes it takes an organization like yours [CMG] to lift up a shortcoming for us to look at our data differently.”

The investigative teams from CMG’s local television markets and its Washington News Bureau played pivotal roles in the award-winning reporting, collectively airing more than 100 news stories in 2023. The partnership with KFF, a non-profit online platform distributing content through media partners nationwide, amplified the impact of the investigation, reaching millions of TV viewers and online readers.

CMG launched its investigative journalism team to harness the power of local news to drive national change. This initiative facilitated collaboration between investigative reporters and external partners, resulting in high-impact reporting that drove positive change nationally.

The recognition as a Pulitzer Prize finalist follows a string of wins for CMG and KFF. They recently earned a prestigious 2024 National Headliner Award, took first place in Government Reporting by the National Association of Healthcare Journalists, and were recognized with the Goldsmith Awards’ inaugural special citation for Government Reporting.

Comprehensive coverage of the SSA story from CMG, and other important local and investigative reports that have protected thousands of consumers can be found online here.

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