USA TODAY Named Online Winner Of The 2013 Gerald Loeb Awards

MCLEAN, Va., June 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY, a multi-platform news and information company, has been named the Online Winner of the 2013 Gerald Loeb Awards. USA TODAY reporters Alison Young and Peter Eisler were honored for their Ghost Factories series. The series uncovered hundreds of forgotten lead factories across the country and the health hazards they left behind. The Gerald Loeb Awards are among the highest honors in business journalism.                      

Ghost Factories was an extensive multimedia series that was reported by a team of USA TODAY reporters and editors working with database, design, digital and visual experts. It included an online interactive that gives users detailed findings about more than 230 factory sites, including historical maps documenting the factories in operation and interactive maps allowing anyone to examine more than 1,000 soil samples gathered by USA TODAY in 21 neighborhoods across the country. The first installment in the series ran in April 2012 and all the stories can be seen online at ghostfactories.usatoday.com.

"We couldn't be prouder of the reporting and editing team who worked on this incredible series. Alison Young and Peter Eisler, along with several dozen database, digital and video journalists spent countless hours on this series. This is the kind of journalism that USA TODAY is committed to producing and we congratulate our investigative team today on this well-deserved honor," said David Callaway, editor-in-chief of USA TODAY.

USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation.  Through its unique visual storytelling, USA TODAY delivers high-quality and engaging content across print, digital, social and video platforms.  An innovator of news and information, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation and serves as the host of the American conversation – today, tomorrow and for decades to follow. USA TODAY and USATODAY.com reach a combined six million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than 17 million downloads on mobile devices. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

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SOURCE USA TODAY