Christopher J. Welles Memorial Prize

Honoring outstanding work by a Knight-Bagehot alum

The Welles Prize was launched in memory of former Knight-Bagehot Fellowship Director Christopher J. Welles. A leading business writer and editor for 40 years, Welles was known for his penetrating accounts of corporate abuse and misbehavior. The Welles Prize is awarded annually for an exceptional business story or series by a former Knight-Bagehot fellow.

The recipient of the Welles Prize receives $500.

2024 Winner

Douglas MacMillan

MacMillan, Bagehot class of 2017, was awarded the Welles Prize for his work on Memory Inc., a series of stories in The Washington Post investigating how elderly people with memory problems had wandered away from the assisted living facilities that were paid to keep them safe. At least 100 of these people died.

MacMillan examined the unregulated $34 billion assisted living industry and uncovered how the drive for profits led to inadequate staffing levels and deadly lapses at some facilities. He interviewed more than 50 current and former assisted living employees and analyzed corporate documents and data to show how the drive for profits led to inadequate staffing levels and deadly lapses at some facilities.

Shortly after publication of the first stories, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing demanding answers from the largest assisted-living chains. The judges cited the series as investigating reporting at its best.

Past Winners

2023

Jon Hilsenrath, Class of 1996, for his biography, "Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval."

John Tozzi, Class of 2017, for his series of stories in Bloomberg News exposing how New Jersey’s health insurer overpaid claims by millions of dollars and yet continued to do business with the insurer.

Questions?

Contact Amy Singer, deputy director, Knight-Bagehot Fellowship.