The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights has named Firestone and the Warlord the winner of its 2015 RFK Journalism Award in the new media category.
The collaborative project with PBS Frontline offered the first detailed examination of the iconic tire company's role in Liberia’s brutal civil war. As T. Christian Miller, Jonathan Jones, Marcela Gaviria and Will Cohen unveiled over a longform investigation and in-depth documentary, Firestone needed Liberia and its rubber while Charles Taylor, an ambitious rebel leader, needed Firestone for his eventual rise to power. Their painstaking reporting brought to light how the killer and the corporation found a way to make peace as war consumed the rest of the country.
Established in 1968, the RFK Journalism Awards have honored those who report on issues concerning human rights, social justice and the power of individual action in the U.S. and around the world. Congratulations to all the winners.