AAN Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss to Receive National Press Foundation Chairman’s Citation

february 10, 2016 04:00 pm

Willamette Week reporter Nigel Jaquiss will receive the National Press Foundation Chairman's Citation award tomorrow in Washington, D.C.

The foundation cited his investigative reporting, which has led to the resignation of two Oregon governors:

Jaquiss—“the scariest man in khakis you’ll ever meet”—according to Portland Monthly magazine– has repeatedly exposed corruption in Oregon politics. In a series of reports from 2014 to 2015, Jaquiss revealed conflicts of interest and misuse of state resources by Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiancée Cylvia Hayes that led to a federal criminal investigation. Kitzhaber, a long-time fixture in state politics, resigned.

In 2009, Jaquiss forced Portland mayor Sam Adams to backtrack on denials he had an affair with a legislative intern. Before that, his reporting on Gov. Neil Goldschmidt’s long concealed sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl led to a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 2005.

“Nigel Jaquiss has demonstrated that in this digital world, we must still return to the craft of journalism to hold our institutions, our politicians, and our society accountable,” said NPF board chairman Heather Dahl. “Jaquiss and his editors are an inspiration to all of us because they show us that it is not the medium in which we publish, the cool digital tools we wield, the social media following we develop, the personal brand we market, or the click bait headlines we craft that brings injustice and corruption to light; it’s the facts—the facts uncovered by reporting and reporting and reporting some more until the truth sees daylight.”

View full article at National Press Foundation