Winner: Fortune, ‘Three Days That Shook the World’
In 72 hours in September 2008, the U.S. economy almost melted down, and confidence in the wisdom of the financial wizards surely did. In one of the first drafts of a tale that is sure to be rewritten for decades to come, Fortune writer William Cohan walked readers through an hour-by-hour account of how that fateful weekend went down among a power elite that suddenly seemed powerless. He not only gave us previously undisclosed details about how the fate of the American economy was juggled among a few hands, he showed how personality as much as policy was driving history.
It is a tale of how “the ideals and egos of the participants in those meetings have reordered the American business landscape,” Cohan wrote. Prior to the weekend of Sept. 12, there were four major investment banks in the U.S. Soon after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the decisions made in 72 hours, there would be none. Cohan brings us inside the deals and the recriminations and threats among the principals to show how history is made by humans, not fate.
Learn more about this winner.
Honorable Mentions
AARP Segundo Juventud – “Just One More: The Face of Addiction”: The daughter of a gambling addict confronts her mom’s experiences in this vivid piece showing how entertainment turns to obsession.
Dwell – “A Narrow Victory”: How do you fit a family of four (and all their stuff) into a 700-square-foot New York apartment? You get really, really smart with storage.
FierceMarkets/Fierce Wireless – “Fierce Wireless Fierce 15 Awards”: Fierce’s widely respected list of the “fiercest” emerging companies in the wireless realm is a well-researched and -argued snapshot.
Town & Country – “How Could You?”: During a year when so many trusted institutions, politicians and public figures let the country down, Lynn Sherr’s rumination on trust and betrayal reached far beyond tabloid hand-wringing and located important cultural themes.
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