Listening to readers helps win a Loeb award
The Post-Dispatch's Loeb award.
My St. Louis Post-Dispatch colleagues Matthew Hathaway, Elizabethe Holland and Jim Gallagher won a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism this evening. I am proud to have been associated with their work and I’m proud of the recognition they earned today.
The three reporters won for three stories they each had a hand in reporting and editing. The stories all focused on the after-market auto service-contract industry, which, as it happens, is largely centered on the St. Louis area. Matt, in particular, has been reporting extensively on the industry, documenting how the players solicit customers, how they deal with consumer complaints and how regulators and consumer advocates have been going after the companies. He’s consistently stayed ahead of other national and local media.
The task was made more challenging by the fact that none of the players are public companies, so none are compelled in any way to reveal any information. But Matt has made great use of his blog and story comments to stay connected. Though he’s not embraced Twitter (which might have helped), he’s watched the comments closely and been able to read between the lines as readers gave insights and ideas about stories he should pursue.
He also participated in the comments and made sure readers knew how to reach him. He and I also worked together to create an interactive map (powered by Google Maps and Docs) of the dozens of area service-contract companies, including nuts-and-bolts information, links to stories, websites and Better Business Bureau complaints.
Ultimately, his ability to work his sources and keep an eye on what the readers were saying helped keep him ahead on the story — so much so that he was able to accurately report on the downfall of US Fidelis, the biggest player in the industry until late last year. US Fidelis had carpet-bombed the country with direct mail and robo-calls for months before attracting the attention of regulators and consumer advocates. Read more
Mapping the extended auto service contract firms
Mapping the extended auto warranty companies.
One of my colleagues, Matt Hathaway, has been doing a great job for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch covering the industry that provides extended auto service contracts to consumers. The industry has been under fire by state and federal regulators, as well as consumer-protection agencies such as the Better Business Bureau. Certain firms within the industry have been accused by those agencies of unfair or deceptive marketing practices.
I’m Matt’s editor. He’s done a great job covering the story. About 10 days ago, he suggested mapping the companies in our area. Our region is “ground zero” for the industry. There have been more than 40 companies in our area that market the so-called “extended warranties.” You might be familiar with companies that advertise heavily on television such as US Fidelis and Mogi.
I set Matt to work on a Google Docs spreadsheet with a bunch of information about all the firms he could find in the area. I took the data and threw it onto this Google Map, which is a work in progress. Read more
Kurt's Tweets- Realizing how woefully out of touch I have been with this part of the county. (@ Saint Louis Bread Company) http://4sq.com/5z5Bfh
- Just had my first Gmail phone call -- with my parents -- and the quality was fantastic. Wow. http://tcrn.ch/a8GndI
- Another day, another interview. Fingers crossed. (@ Saint Louis Bread Co) http://4sq.com/avGImL
- Helping my son learn the first 20 elements on the periodic table. Disturbed by how many more elements there are since I studied this stuff.
- Giving blood. (@ St. Martin's Episcopal Church) http://4sq.com/aiWuEk