Hoy Chicago Receives IRE Award for Crunch Time

CHICAGO, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Hoy, the leading Hispanic newspaper in Chicago, was recently awarded an IRE Award by the Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. in the Multiplatform category for its investigative series, Crunch Time. The annual IRE Awards recognize the best in investigative reporting by print, broadcast and online media.

Crunch Time: The relationship between the police departments and black communities in Champaign and Urbana, takes a look at arrest disparities in the Champaign-Urbana area of Illinois. As part of an ongoing collaboration with Citizen-Access investigating demographic changes in 16 counties throughout Central Illinois, Crunch Time was written in a blog-post format, with pieces going beyond traditional reporting and analysis, including arrest data and local civilian video commentary.

Judges' comments: "This partnership is a smart piece of accountability reporting about racial inequality that takes us inside a community through excellent video interviews and writing. In the stringent enforcement of marijuana use, vehicular noise and other lesser crimes like jaywalking in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., this is a story of living in fear of the police. Though black people comprise only 16 percent of the population, they represent 40 percent of those arrested. The reporters published as they went, presenting a collaborative effort online and a 16-page bilingual supplement distributed in both the Chicago and Champaign-Urbana areas. 'Crunch Time' sticks with you."

"We are proud of our team's innovation and collaboration in telling these important stories and are honored to be recognized by IRE," says John Trainor, General Manager of Hoy. "It is our hope to continue to tell these vital citizen stories, through these evolving formats, to best service both our English and Spanish-speaking audiences."

In October, Hoy and CU-CitizenAccess.org published a 16-page bilingual supplement that was distributed in the Chicago and Champaign-Urbana areas. The Chicago Tribune graphics department provided tremendous support for a two-page map that depicted the region's demographic shifts, receiving a Society for News Design Award in February.

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to improving investigative reporting efforts around the world. The 2012 IRE Award categories include: Print/Online, Multimedia, Broadcast/Video, Radio/Audio, Student, Investigations Triggered by Breaking News, Book and the Gannett Award for Innovation In Watchdog Journalism. This year's winners were chosen from among more than 490 entries. To see the complete list IRE Award winners and nominees, visit http://ire.org/

About Hoy:
Hoy is part of Tribune Media Group, publishing two of the leading Spanish-language newspapers in Chicago and Los Angeles. Hoy and Fin de Semana have a combined weekly distribution of nearly 2 million copies nationally. Hoy boasts the only Spanish-language daily newspaper in Chicago and the Los Angeles Fin de Semana product is the largest home-delivered Spanish-language newspaper in the nation. Hoy has a diversified portfolio that includes online, mobile, out-of-home and digital signage solutions. Hoy is committed to engaging Latino audiences through a strong community presence. Its culturally-relevant content provides advertisers with an effective and trustworthy way to reach Hispanic communities in these two key markets. For more information about Hoy visit www.vivelohoy.com.

About Citizen-Access:
CU-CitizenAccess.org is a community online news and information project based at the University of Illinois devoted to investigative and enterprise coverage of social, justice and economic issues in East Central Illinois. CU-CitizenAccess launched in 2009 with funding from the Marajen Stevick Foundation and the University of Illinois and a matching community information grant from the John S. Knight and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, visit www.cu-citizenaccess.org

SOURCE Hoy