Guardian US’s series exposing and documenting the extent of lethal force used by law enforcement officers across the United States has been named among 60 finalists for the Peabody Awards, which honor excellence in storytelling across broadcasting and electronic media. The winners will be announced from April 19.
Launched in March 2015, The Counted tracks the number of people killed by police and other law enforcement agencies in the United States throughout 2015 and 2016, monitoring their demographics and telling the stories of how they died. The project, one of only three nominated for web excellence, combines Guardian reporting with verified crowdsourced information to build a more comprehensive record of such fatalities. It is the most thorough public accounting for deadly use of police force in the US.
The Counted consists of an interactive database which launched on June 1, 2015, alongside traditional reporting, analysis, multimedia series and long reads that delve into specific stories and areas of focus. Since its launch, The Counted has accounted for almost 1,500 deaths, including telling the stories of eight victims whose deaths had previously gone unreported, and has provoked responses from the highest levels of government.
“We’re honored that The Counted has been recognized as a finalist for a Peabody award,” said Lee Glendinning, editor of Guardian US. “The project has sought to tell the stories of all of those who have died at the hands of the police, as well as to force the authorities to take responsibility for providing more thorough public accounting for such deaths. I’m so proud of our team of reporters, editors, interactive journalists and filmmakers who have worked tirelessly on this project, and so thankful for the support of The Counted community.”
The prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards have honored excellence in storytelling since 1940. This year’s 30 Peabody winners will be announced online from April 19. The 75th annual Peabody Awards ceremony will take place May 21 in New York City. Read the full list of Peabody Award nominees here.
Find out more about how The Counted has tracked police killings nationwide here.
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Notes to editors
Credits
Reporting: Jon Swaine, Oliver Laughland, Jamiles Lartey and Ciara McCarthy
Design and production: Kenan Davis, Rich Harris, Nadja Popovich and Kenton Powell
Community maintenance and moderation: Mary Hamilton, Mike Barry, Jessica Lee and Sarah Eberspacher
Video: Valerie Lapinski, Laurence Mathieu-Léger and Mae Ryan
Additional reporting: Tom McCarthy
Pictures: Sarah Gilbert
Copy editing: Maraithe Thomas and Tom Gottlieb
Edited by Katharine Viner and Lee Glendinning
About Guardian News & Media
Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com which, with 150 million unique browsers a month, is one of the largest English-speaking quality newspaper websites in the world. Since launching its US and Australia digital editions in 2011 and 2013 respectively, traffic from outside of the UK now represents over two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience.
The Guardian is most recently renowned for its Pulitzer Prize and Emmy-winning revelations based on the disclosures made by whistleblower Edward Snowden. In 2014, the Guardian was named newspaper and website of the year at the Society of Editors UK Press Awards and is the most trusted news source in the UK (Ofcom digital media report, 2014).