Republic wins award for its VA reporting

Stories shed light on hospital corruption

Investigative Reporters and Editors has recognized The Arizona Republic with one of its annual awards for The Republic’s coverage of the Department of Veterans Affairs scandal in which officials falsified appointment wait-time data for veterans, some of whom died awaiting care.

The national journalism organization honors a handful of the best examples of investigative reporting every year, presenting the awards at a June conference.

It was a year ago Friday that Republic reporter Dennis Wagner’s frontpage story broke the national code of silence on internal corruption at the VA, exposing deceit so widespread that more than 90 separate VA medical care facilities subsequently were investigated.

Reporters Craig Harris, Rob O’Dell and Paul Giblin eventually joined Wagner in working the story, along with Michelle Ye Hee Lee, now a reporter at the Washington Post. Together, the team would write 100-plus stories.

Their coverage helped lead to the resignation of then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. It also inspired national legislation to expand veterans’ access to timely treatment.

“While the story of poor care for veterans has been told well by media outlets across the country, reporting by The Arizona Republic propelled this story into a national scandal with sweeping results,” the IRE judges said. “The project demonstrates the benefits of solid beat reporting and not letting go of a story once the national media jumps in.”

Wagner this week will also accept the prestigious Polk Award for Military Reporting for his coverage of the VA crisis.

The reporting team, led by Government Accountability Editor Pat Flannery, also will be honored with the Scripps Howard Foundation investigative reporting award for its VA coverage last year.