A team of reporters at the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes snagged a 2009 George Polk Award for a series of stories about the Rendon Group’s profiling of journalists covering the war in Afghanistan. Reporters Charlie Reed, Kevin Baron and Leo Shane III wrote a number of scoops about how the agency profiled and evaluated journalists in attempt to steer coverage on behalf of the Pentagon.

The lucrative contract went to S4 Inc. six weeks after the DoD canceled with Rendon.

The Polks honor the best in investigative reporting in all its forms, and has flexible criteria for inclusion. The panel of judges acknowledged the anonymous person reponsible for videotaping and uploading the young woman dying from a gunshot wound during a protest in Iran.

Tom Brokaw will read the Polk Award citations at a luncheon honoring the winners next Thursday in Manhattan.

RELATED: S4 Wins U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Contract for Afghanistan/Pakistan Communications

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