SEATTLE — KING 5 and investigative reporter Chris Ingalls have been given the respected Kenneth Bunting Award from the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG), recognizing the station for their relentless push for truth, transparency and open records.
“We are so honored to receive this award from WCOG,” said KING 5 news director Pete Saiers. “The responsibility we as journalists have to our community – to share the truth, no matter the obstacles we face – is something every person in our newsroom takes to heart. The Kenneth Bunting Award is an incredible recognition of Chris’ work and our commitment as a station to Stand for Truth.”
The award recognizes KING 5’s use of state public records laws and other reporting tools to shed light on a deadly mold outbreak in operating rooms at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The team was recognized for their same work in January 2020 with the Key Award, given to individuals and organizations for going to extraordinary measures to ensure government transparency through the state’s Open Public Meetings Act/Public Records Act.
“In my 30 years of reporting never have I faced such opposition to the release of public records by any organization. Add to that the fact that initially the courts ruled against us,” said Ingalls. “I’m proud that KING 5 stood tall and continued to press for these records. It was important to the story, and an important public message that no person or organization should be allowed to upend the public records act.”
WCOG is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works through the courts and the Legislature to defend and strengthen Washington’s open government laws and protect the public’s access to government at all levels. WCOG stands for the principle that transparency and public participation are essential building blocks of good government. The Kenneth Bunting Award honors the memory of the late Ken Bunting, an executive editor and associate publisher with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer who helped found the Washington Coalition for Open Government in 2002. The Bunting Award recognizes journalists and news organizations for work that uses or advances Washington state’s open government laws, or educates citizens about them.
The coalition will present the Bunting Award to Ingalls and KING 5, and honor them with the previously announced Key Award for the same work, at its annual Madison Andersen Awards Breakfast on September 18. The event will be virtual this year due to the pandemic.
