Brandy Zadrozny and James LaPorta were recognized for their reporting on West Point’s “special treatment” of its football players.
The Military Reporters & Editors association on Monday announced the winners for their annual defense journalism awards, with The Daily Beast taking home the top prize in online reporting. Beast reporters James LaPorta and Brandy Zadrozny were recognized for their pair of stories on West Point cadet and star defensive back Brandon Jackson, who drove drunk after a party with officers and fellow cadets, and was killed after crashing into a guardrail. The reporters revealed, via West Point internal documents, that the Army gave special treatment to its cadets on the football team. In another report, they found that a West Point star quarterback accused of rape was cleared after an internal investigation while the accuser, a woman, was run out of the academy by fellow cadets and officials.
