PRINT reporting Award
ENTRY WINNER
Cleo Krejci
ENTRY EXPLANATION
In October 2023, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Cleo Krejci came to her editors with a stack of old notebooks and an unconventional idea.
More than a year ago, motivated by her grandparents’ experience with aging and finding herself between jobs, Krejci applied to work as a caregiver at an assisted living facility.
She had no prior health care experience. She told her interviewer she was a journalist. Still, she was hired immediately.
What Krejci witnessed in those 10 months — from shocking examples of neglect to profound acts of compassion — eventually inspired her powerful investigative series about Wisconsin’s assisted living industry, “The Gray Zone.”
Supported by a grant from the Gerontological Society of America, Krejci delved into hundreds of state reports and interviewed more than 50 workers, families, nurses, researchers and others. What she found was a system buckling under years of neglect. As the population ages, more and more people in Wisconsin are not sick enough for a nursing home, but not well enough to continue living independently at home. Assisted living facilities were supposed to be the solution. But Krejci discovered that all isn’t as it should be.
Krejci also penned a first-person piece about her own experience as a caregiver. That unconventional decision was made after numerous discussions about the legal, ethical and journalistic implications.
In addition, Krejci translated her reporting into how-to guides for readers faced with end-of-life decisions for their loved ones, exemplifying her commitment to public service journalism. In plain language, Krejci guided consumers through the different types of long-term care facilities in Wisconsin and how to vet them for cost, quality and more. One reader said she planned to take Krejci’s reporting with her as she researched facilities for herself.
State lawmakers from both parties have since vowed to push for improvements in the upcoming legislative session. Some have floated raising wages and expanding career pathways for direct caregivers. Others are considering mandated staffing ratios, similar to federal regulations for nursing homes.
Notably, a large number of messages Krejci received were from assisted living insiders — caregivers, administrators, and social workers — who said her reporting had struck a chord.
“The nature of the complaints has become increasingly severe,” said one reader, a state health department inspector who said she was about to be let go due to funding cuts. “The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. The public needs to know what is happening in facilities such as this.”
“It’s always been an unwritten rule never to talk to the media,” wrote another reader, a former assisted living administrator who encouraged Krejci to keep digging. “But, the only way to positively effect change is by reporting about it.”
For probing, gutsy reporting that exemplifies why local reporting and investigative journalism matters, we are honored to nominate Krejci and “The Gray Zone” for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting Award.
