Brian Howey (’22) and Professor Jennifer LaFleur named duPont-Columbia Awards Finalists

Investigations by a recent graduate and an award-winning data journalism professor at Berkeley Journalism are among those named finalists for the 2025 duPont-Columbia Awards, honoring outstanding public service in audio and video reporting.

Brian Howey

Brian Howey’s (’22) podcast “We Regret to Inform You,” for Reveal exposed how police officers are trained to delay death notifications to extract potentially damaging information from grieving families — and thereby reduce civil suit payouts — before informing them that their loved one has been killed by police.

Howey initially reported this story in Professor David Barstow’s second-year Developing your Blockbuster Investigative Story seminar, and then stayed on at the Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) at UC Berkeley through the summer to spend three more months on this investigation. Lecturer Christine Schiavo provided additional editorial and reporting guidance. A print version of the investigation in the Los Angeles Times and the accompanying podcast also won a George Polk Award for Justice Reporting earlier this year.

Jennifer LaFleur

Professor Jennifer LaFleur, a former senior editor at the Center for Public Integrity, coordinated the extraordinary three-part series “40 Acres and a Lie” for Reveal, The Center for Public Integrity, Mother Jones & PRX that explores the lesser-known legacy of American reparations that were given and taken away. The audio investigation employed artificial intelligence tools to help analyze almost two million historical records to show how an often-misunderstood government program gave more than 1,200 formerly enslaved people land titles, only to take the land back, fueling a wealth gap that remains today. Steven Rascón (’22) was the production manager.

The series also recently won the SPJ NorCal award for Public Service.

The 2025 duPont-Columbia Winners will be announced at a ceremony on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at Columbia’s Low Library.