“Red Hill’s fuel director raised an alarm before pipes leaked. The Navy removed her” article wins 2024 MRE Journalism Contest

Christina Jedra from Honolulu Civil Beat awarded print media prize by Military Reporters & Editors


WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 — During its annual conference for journalists who cover the military, Military Reporters & Editors presented awards to the winners of the 2024 MRE Journalism Contest. Christina Jedra’s entry published by Honolulu Civil Beat was singled out by judges as exceptional work in investigative reporting.

Christina Jedra Biography

Christina Jedra awarded 2024 MRE Journalism prize

Christina Jedra is an award-winning watchdog reporter for Honolulu Civil Beat, a nonprofit news organization in Hawaii. For years, Christina has been the islands’ lead reporter covering the Red Hill water contamination crisis in which U.S. Navy fuel tainted the drinking water of 93,000 Pearl Harbor water customers. Christina’s reporting before and after the disaster demonstrated how the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility was a threat to the drinking water for years, how there were inadequate safeguards to detect a problem, and how the Navy sought to hide information from regulators and the public. Christina has also covered city, state and military affairs for Civil Beat, The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, and The Capitol in Annapolis, Maryland. Her investigative reporting has earned Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Awards and has been recognized by the Institute for Nonprofit News, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, and the Hawaii Society of Professional Journalists.

Award Summary

Article “Red Hill’s Fuel Director Raised An Alarm Before Pipes Leaked. The Navy Removed Her.”

Prize Category: Best Investigative Journalism, Division 3, Print Media — The Investigative award is designated for a single piece or series of pieces demonstrating in-depth, analytical skills, with information gathered over time with consideration given to originality, use of public records if they apply, as well as outcomes of the investigation, and published by smaller news organizations with a reporting staff under 20.

Read the winning submission

July 28, 2023 | Honolulu Civil Beat

Red Hill’s Fuel Director Raised An Alarm Before Pipes Leaked. The Navy Removed Her

https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/07/red-hills-fuel-director-raised-an-alarm-before-pipes-leaked-the-navy-removed-her/