Past Contest Entries

Where’s Molly?

For decades, tens of thousands of American children were locked in institutions – labeled as 'defective' and 'erased' from their family trees. Family secrets are now coming out in the open as siblings of these "erased children" go on a desperate search – but in most states, the law is standing in the way. We join a man who defied legal hurdles and his family's wishes to keep his sister a secret – and searched to finally bring his sister's existence out in the open.

Judges' Comments: This extraordinary piece details the journey that follows a brother's persistent question, 'where's Molly?' His quest to find the answer uncovers not just where Molly is, but how the mentally ill were treated. By the time he finds Molly, he learns that she was abandoned, forgotten, and abused. Molly's misery sets the table for Molly's miracle, a brother-sister reunion that also sets the stage for a sea change and or "Molly's Bill" 

See "Where's Molly?" by Elizabeth Cohen.

See the contest questionnaire in which the reporter writes about how this story was written.

Place:

First Place

Year:

  • 2007

Category:

  • network
  • |
  • syndicated)
  • |
  • TV/Radio (Top 20 markets

Affiliation:

CNN

Reporter:

Elizabeth Cohen

Links: