Manatee commissioner Baugh made VIP list for COVID-19 vaccines. She put herself on it Bradenton Herald
Bradenton Herald
Residents in wealthy ZIP codes moved to the front of the vaccination line. Vulnerable communities devastated by a state’s failure to prepare for extreme weather. Law officers shot down in the line of duty and a Black football star's mysterious death in South Carolina.
McClatchy journalists told these stories and many more as they served their local communities with essential journalism, day after day.
In Bradenton, reporters asked the hard questions about a pop-up vaccination clinic that favored the wealthy, and they didn’t stop even as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to the criticism by threatening to send the vaccines to other counties.
In Fort Worth, journalists worked to chronicle the effects of a deadly winter storm, despite losing power and water in their own homes. Reporters and visual journalists in Biloxi and Miami responded quickly after officers were slain in their communities and followed up with compelling stories on the victims and deep reporting on the gunmen.
In Wichita, a special nod to the staff of tenacious watchdog journalists who have spent years uncovering corruption in local government, leading to the departure of four elected officials.
And in Rock Hill, South Carolina, The Herald and McClatchy Studios, along with iHeartMedia, launched “Return Man,” a new narrative podcast investigating the mysterious death of pro-football player Jim Duncan in 1972.
Read on for more of our extraordinary journalism.