Today the Livingston Awards honored exceptional journalists under the age of 35 for outstanding work in local, national and international reporting. This year’s winning stories include a local investigation into how Hartford, Connecticut’s public school system graduated a student with honors who, after 12 years in the district, could not read or write; a powerful podcast series exposing the systemic struggles of those living with severe mental illness in the U.S.; and a deeply reported investigation into the health and environmental consequences of Western oil operations on the village of Berezovka, Kazakhstan. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2024.
The Livingston Awards also honored Norman Pearlstine with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. Throughout a career spanning leadership roles at The Wall Street Journal, Time Inc., Bloomberg L.P., and the Los Angeles Times, Pearlstine has championed newsroom talent and guided generations of journalists. Named for the late Richard M. Clurman, former chief of correspondents for Time-Life News Service and the architect of the Livingston Awards, the prize is presented annually to a veteran journalist who has had a profound impact on the development and careers of journalists.
Livingston Awards national judges María Elena Salinas, independent journalist, formerly of ABC News and Univision, Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist at The New York Times, Sally Buzbee, news editor for the United States and Canada, Reuters and Sewell Chan, senior fellow at the Annenberg Center of Communication Leadership and Policy, introduced the winners at a ceremony hosted by Livingston Awards judge Audie Cornish, anchor of “CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish.”
“At a time of escalating efforts to discredit the press and undermine the role of journalism in our society, recognizing the work of these young reporters is both urgent and necessary,” said Lynette Clemetson, Livingston Awards director. “Their stories uncovered fresh angles on familiar issues and offered compelling entry points that refocused our attention and spurred discourse and action, reminding us of journalism’s role in a healthy democracy.”
Celebrating its 44th year, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, cultivate the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and advance civic engagement through powerful storytelling. Major sponsors include the University of Michigan, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation and the Hochman and Allard Families, Christiane Amanpour, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, CNN and The Joyce Foundation.
The 2025 winners for work released in 2024 are listed below.
Local Reporting
Jessika Harkay, 24, of The Connecticut Mirror for “Aleysha Ortiz,” a three-part story following a graduate of Hartford Public High School who completed her education without acquiring the ability to read or write. Despite attending Hartford public schools since age six and graduating with honors, Ortiz’s learning disabilities were inadequately addressed by the school system. Her case has sparked bipartisan concern among Connecticut lawmakers, highlighting systemic issues in special education and prompting calls for increased accountability and reform within the state’s educational institutions.
“The first few paragraphs of the article grab you. How is it possible that a young lady who graduated from high school and is now entering college was never taught how to read and write? Aleysha Ortiz’s story is fascinating not just because of the obvious failure of the Hartford public school system, but because of how this remarkable young woman is fighting for her right to learn in spite of her learning disabilities. Jessika Harkay, a 24-year-old education reporter for The Connecticut Mirror, stumbled upon Aleysha’s story and ran with it. In doing so she gave Aleysha a voice and prompted efforts to make sure this doesn’t happen again.“
— María Elena Salinas, Livingston Awards national judge
National Reporting
Esmy Jimenez, 30 and Sydney Brownstone, 34, The Seattle Times in partnership with KUOW Public Radio, for three episodes from Season One of the podcast “Lost Patients.” Their stories explored the visceral experience of psychosis, the anguish of families whose loved ones are being endlessly “churned” through shelters, jails and hospitals, and the discovery of little-known archives — prompting descendants to discover institutionalized relatives for the first time.
“When faced with a catastrophe that defies easy explanation, let alone solutions, the human impulse is usually to look away. But when Esmy Jimenez and Sydney Brownstone began reporting on people with
persistent psychosis, they did what great journalists have always done: look deeper, dig further and never lose sight of the human stories at the heart of America’s mental health crisis. There are few villains and no saints in their panoramic podcast ‘Lost Patients,’ which reaches back through decades — even centuries — to try to understand how as a society we abandoned the most gravely mentally ill people, and offer us an opportunity to rethink how we treat the most vulnerable among us.”
— Lydia Polgreen, Livingston Awards national judge
International Reporting
Nicole Sadek, 26, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) for “The Lost Village,” an investigation into how toxic emissions from Western oil operations in Berezovka, Kazakhstan, led to a suspected wave of illness and the forced relocation of residents. In 2014, about 20 children at the village’s only school fainted and suffered seizures. Though the companies funded the relocation starting in 2015, they never accepted responsibility for the health crisis and environmental devastation.
“Nicole Sadek brought tenacity and sensitivity to the story of a decade-old tragedy – the relocation of an entire village in northwestern Kazakhstan because of serious health issues suffered by its people linked to a nearby Western-run oil and gas field. Her reporting, with its description of the difficulties the villagers of Berezovka faced in securing assistance or accountability, allowed a wider audience to understand this story and its clear warnings for the future.”
— Sally Buzbee, Livingston Awards national judge
Mentoring Award
Norman Pearlstine, who held top editorial roles at some of the nation’s most influential news organizations, including executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, editor-in-chief and chief content officer at Time Inc., chief content officer at Bloomberg L.P., managing editor and executive editor at The Wall Street Journal and executive editor at Forbes, was honored with the Richard M. Clurman Award for his commitment to counseling, nurturing and inspiring young journalists. In a video tribute, generations of journalists reflected on Pearlstine’s mentorship and his lasting influence on their careers.
“While many can claim Norm as a former boss, I feel particularly fortunate. He saw potential in me that I sometimes couldn’t see myself, building my confidence with each challenge he entrusted me to handle.”
— Kimi Yoshino, The Baltimore Banner
In addition to Buzbee, Chan, Cornish, Polgreen and Salinas, the Livingston national judges panel includes Raney Aronson-Rath, Matt Murray, Bret Stephens, and Kara Swisher.
More on the winners here.
