ABC NEWS� BRIAN ROSS AND INVESTIGATIVE TEAM WIN TWO 2007 NATIONAL HEADLINER AWARDS FOR ONLINE JOURNALISM AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

ABC News� Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross and the ABC News Investigative team took first place in the 2007 National Headliner Award for Television Affiliated Online Journalism for their reporting on the Mark Foley congressional page scandal. The Investigative team also won first place for Investigative Reporting in the Traditional Broadcast Category for a report on ABC News� �20/20� -- �Brian Ross Investigates: Mugus and Masters� -- the Press Club of Atlantic City, NJ, announced today.

Mr. Ross and the ABC News Investigative team first reported on the Investigative Unit�s web page, The Blotter, questionable emails sent by then-Congressman Mark Foley to a former congressional page. That online report prompted other former pages to reveal more sexually explicit instant messages from Foley. After being confronted by ABC News, Foley resigned. This is the Blotter�s first online award.

The award for Investigative Reporting in the Traditional Broadcast Category was for a three-month ABC News investigation that exposed con artists, mostly from Nigeria, who preyed on millions of Americans and pocketed billions of dollars in the process. The investigation aired on �20/20� in December. Ross is doing a follow-up report on this week�s �20/20.�

For that report, Ross traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, the epicenter of worldwide email and postal scams. �20/20� discovered that many of the scam artists have built huge fortunes and are living in lavish mansions from the proceeds of their fraud. These master con men are rarely caught or prosecuted. Ross was able to turn the tables on the con artists, catching them red-handed as they tried to rip Ross� team off for thousands of dollars. Stunning undercover footage revealed what happens when the scammers realize they�ve been caught in the act.

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