Announcing the 2026 Livingston Award Winners

2026 Livingston Awards: William Skipworth, Hannah Natanson, Gerardo del Valle, Alejandro Bonilla Suárez, Edwin Corona Ramos, Marty Boran
2026 Livingston Award winners (Clockwise from top) William Skipworth of The New Hampshire Bulletin, Hannah Natanson of The Washington Post, Martin Baron, the Richard M. Clurman Award recipient, Gerardo del Valle, Alejandro Bonilla Suárez, and Edwin Corona Ramos of ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga, and Cazadores de Fake News.

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 cases of abuse in New Hampshire’s taxpayer-funded, state-regulated disability care system; the devastating human impact of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) sweeping policy changes; and powerful documentary videos sharing first-person accounts from three men detained by ICE and deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2025.

The Livingston Awards also honored Martin Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Miami Herald, with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. 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 Evan Osnos, staff writer of The New Yorker, Stephen Henderson, founder and executive advisor to BridgeDetroit, and Kara Swisher, host of the podcasts “On with Kara Swisher” and “Pivot,” introduced the winners at a ceremony hosted by Livingston Awards emeritus judge María Elena Salinas, formerly of Univision, ABC News and CBS News. Dean Baquet, Livingston Awards emeritus judge and former executive editor of The New York Times, presented Baron with the Clurman Award for mentoring.

“The tenacity and humanity coursing through the work of this year’s Livingston Award winners is a testament to the irreplaceable role of deeply reported journalism in our lives,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the Wallace House Center for Journalists and the Livingston Awards. “When we move past outrage loops, algorithms and AI content, it is still rigorously reported, thoughtfully produced human stories that illuminate the real-life consequences of our politics and policies.”

Celebrating its 45th 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. A year-round program, the awards provide industry training and create opportunities for public engagement through events where winners share their stories and offer transparency to their reporting process.

The 2026 winners for work released in 2025 are listed below.

Local Reporting

William Skipworth, 27, of The New Hampshire Bulletin for “A System of Harm,” an investigative series revealing systemic failures and horrific cases of abuse in New Hampshire’s taxpayer-funded and state-regulated disability care system. Drawing on court records, official documents and interviews with victims’ families, Skipworth chronicled vulnerable individuals subjected to daily beatings, rape and sexual assault, along with caregiver neglect that in some cases resulted in death.

“We often aim to measure our moral progress by how we care for the most vulnerable. Yet, when William Skipworth tried to assess a system touting its treatment of children and adults with disabilities, he met a wall of official silence. It would have been easy to move on in a newsroom of only three reporters. Instead, his skillful, tenacious quest brought lucid humanity to a pattern of hidden abuses, seizing public attention and empowering families to speak for those who cannot.”

— Evan Osnos, Livingston Awards national judge

National Reporting

Hannah Natanson, 29, of The Washington Post, for “Trump’s Reshaping of the Federal Government,” a series that revealed the far-reaching impact of DOGE’s sweeping policy changes. Through social media and encrypted Signal communications, dozens and sometimes hundreds of government employees wrote to her daily, describing their despair at seeing agencies and the mission they believed in crippled, and providing firsthand accounts and insights into inefficiencies stemming from the DOGE cuts.

“The Trump administration’s remake of the federal government calls journalism to some of its highest purposes: exacting comprehensive coverage; sensitive portraits of results and impact; careful reconciliation of promised outcomes versus real effects and consequences. Hannah Natanson of The Washington Post aces all three in her series of stories about the radical changes in Washington, with help from a network of more than 1,200 sources and unflinching determination. It matters immensely, in a time of both quiet and unwieldy oppression of counternarrative, that Natanson’s work continues despite an FBI raid of her home. This was not just journalism of excellence. It was journalism powered by courage.”

— Stephen Henderson, Livingston Awards national judge

International Reporting

Gerardo del Valle, 34, Alejandro Bonilla Suárez, 33 and Edwin Corona Ramos, 33, of ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga and Cazadores de Fake News for “Taken to CECOT,” video documentaries centered on three men’s first-person accounts of being detained by ICE and deported to a prison in El Salvador accused of widespread human rights abuses, despite reporting finding no known criminal records or evidence of gang affiliations for any of the three men. In Spanish with English subtitles, the videos humanize their experiences and document a dramatic shift in U.S. policy that tests both moral and legal boundaries.

“Well before recent reporting on the government targeting and deporting people with no criminal records, this team of reporters exposed the practice where simple immigration violations resulted in horrific torture at the CECOT facility in El Salvador. The investigation found that more than half of the 238 deportees were labeled as having no criminal record in the U.S., and only six had violent convictions. Nearly half were deported in the middle of their immigration cases. ‘Taken to CECOT’ is the story of our age right now, or carelessness combined with cruelty, where the demonization of the immigrant results in a nightmare for justice too.”

— Kara Swisher, Livingston Awards national judge

Mentoring Award

Martin Baron, who held the top editorial role at The Washington Post (2013-2021), The Boston Globe (2001-2012) and The Miami Herald (2000-2001), was honored with the Richard M. Clurman Award for his commitment to counseling, nurturing and inspiring young journalists. Throughout his distinguished career, Baron nurtured newsroom talent and mentored generations of journalists, extending his support beyond the news organizations he led to journalists elsewhere, including advising the founders of El Planeta, a Spanish-language news outlet serving Boston and New England’s Latino communities. In a video tribute, generations of journalists reflected on Baron’s mentorship and his lasting influence on their careers.

“For me, and countless others, Marty’s influence centers around his quiet and steady counsel. Amid the demands of leadership, he somehow remained accessible, a graciousness that extended to summer interns and to journalists who never worked for him.”
— Tracy Jan, investigative editor, ProPublica

More about the Livingston Award judges here.

More on the 2026 Livingston Award winners and their work here.

Announcing the 2026 Livingston Awards Finalists

Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan today announced the 2026 Livingston Awards finalists in local, national, and international reporting. The awards support young journalists and honor the best reporting and storytelling by journalists under 35 across all forms of journalism. The finalist selections were chosen for work published in 2025.

This year’s winners will be announced on June 9, 2026, at an awards ceremony in New York City hosted by María Elena Salinas, former co-anchor of Univision’s flagship daily newscast, “Noticiero Univision.”

“The work of this year’s Livingston Awards finalists serves as a reminder of the most consequential issues of the past year, and the ambitious work of journalists to tackle those issues with urgency, depth and nuance,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists. “We applaud the tenacity of these committed reporters and are proud to extend the reach of their work.”

Now in its 45th year, the awards continue to bolster the work of young reporters, encourage the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and foster civic engagement around powerful storytelling.

The Livingston Awards regional judges read all qualifying entries to select the finalists in local, national and international reporting. The regional judging panel includes Molly Ball, political reporter, analyst, commentator and author; Meghna Chakrabarti, host and editor, “On Point,” WBUR; Stella Chávez, independent journalist, formerly KERA and The Texas Newsroom; Jodi Cohen, reporter and senior editor, ProPublica; Adam Ganucheau, executive editor and chief content officer, Deep South Today; David Greene, co-founder, Fearless Media; and Amna Nawaz, co-anchor, PBS “NewsHour.”

A panel of national judges reviews all finalist entries and selects the winners. The national judges are Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “FRONTLINE”; Sally Buzbee, news editor for the United States and Canada, Reuters; Sewell Chan, senior fellow, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy; Stephen Henderson, host, Detroit Public Television; Matt Murray, executive editor, The Washington Post; Evan Osnos, staff writer, The New Yorker; Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist, The New York Times; Bret Stephens, opinion columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, podcast host, Vox Media.

The Livingston Awards are made possible with support from generous sponsors, including Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation and the Hochman and Allard Families, The New York Times, The Joyce Foundation, Collective Media and The Briefing Room, Christiane Amanpour, Laura McTaggart and Tom Nolan, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, and the Judy and Fred Wilpon Foundation.

We present the 2026 Livingston Awards finalists

You can find their submitted work here.

Local Reporting

  • Curtis Brodner, Oishika Neogi and Willow Higgins, New York Focus and Columbia Journalism Investigations
  • Rebecca Cadenhead, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
  • Lauren Caruba and Marin Wolf, The Dallas Morning News
  • Jana Cholakovska, NJ Advance Media
  • Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald
  • Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times
  • Chris Gelardi, New York Focus
  • Dana Gerber, The Boston Globe
  • Katie Hyson, KPBS Public Media
  • David Leffler, Savanna Strott and Salina Arredondo, Public Health Watch
  • Wyatt Massey and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA
  • Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times
  • Hallie Miller, Giacomo Bologna, Sahana Jayaraman and Krishna Sharma, The Baltimore Banner
  • Lauren Peace, Tampa Bay Times
  • Laura Rodriguez Presa, Chicago Tribune
  • Dylan Segelbaum, The Baltimore Banner
  • Allen Siegler, Mississippi Today
  • William Skipworth, The New Hampshire Bulletin
  • Jessie Smith, The Oklahoman
  • Sammy Sussman, The New York Times and New York Focus
  • Alexa York, Toledo Blade

 National Reporting

  • Akbar Shahid Ahmed, HuffPost
  • Ethan Bauer, Deseret Magazine
  • Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, The New York Times
  • Natasha Bertrand, CNN
  • Nicole Foy, ProPublica
  • Carlos Garcia, NPR
  • Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica
  • Benjamin Katz, The Wall Street Journal
  • Ava Kofman, The New Yorker
  • Nat Lash, ProPublica
  • Mel Leonor Barclay and Shefali Luthra, The 19th
  • Morgan Lieberman, Long Lead
  • Jason Mast, STAT
  • Matt Nadel, The New Yorker
  • Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post
  • Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News
  • Katie Thornton, WNYC’s “On the Media,” with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism
  • Lauren Weber and Caitlin Gilbert, The Washington Post
  • David Yaffe-Bellany, The New York Times

 International Reporting

  • Hanna Arhirova, Illia Novikov and Vasilisa Stepanenko, The Associated Press
  • Anas Baba, NPR
  • Gregory Barber, MIT Technology Review
  • Rachel Chason, The Washington Post
  • Anna Conkling, Business Insider
  • Gerardo del Valle, Alejandro Bonilla Suárez and Edwin Corona Ramos, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga, and Cazadores de Fake News
  • Nadia Hamdan, Reveal
  • Mohammed Mhawish, New York Magazine in partnership with the Palestine Reporting Lab
  • Eren Orbey, The New Yorker
  • Casey Quackenbush, POLITICO Europe
  • Marcelo Rochabrun, Bloomberg News
  • Ari Schneider, Mountain Gazette
  • Liam Scott, The Nation
  • Rebecca Tan, The Washington Post

More on the finalists’ work and links to watch, listen and read here.

The Eisendrath Symposium: Covering Migration in Europe

Wallace House Presents a WCEE Panel and Eisendrath Symposium Event

With Ismail Einashe, Jedrzej Slodkowski, and Sarah Souli
Moderated by Lynette Clemetson
Welcome by Doug Northrop, Interim Director of WCEE

4:30 PM | Thursday, March 19, 2026
Rackham Amphitheater, Fourth Floor

Reception following the discussion

Watch the video of the event.

Free and open to the public.
This is a non-ticketed event.

Covering Migration in Europe: Displacement, Trauma and Reporting on Vulnerable Sources

Across Europe, governments on the right, left, and center are rolling back protections for migrants and supporting new European Union proposals that would allow asylum seekers to be sent to third countries. Even as border crossings have dropped significantly in recent years, human rights groups warn that deterrence-focused policies and sealed borders are pushing people onto more dangerous routes, increasing the risk of abuse, displacement and trauma.

European media coverage of migration has largely centered on political debate, often leaving people’s lives and experiences out of the reporting. What does this imbalance mean for public understanding, and how can we responsibly cover Europe’s shifting migration politics, while ethically reporting on trauma and engaging vulnerable sources whose stories are too often overlooked?

The Eisendrath Symposium honors Charles R. Eisendrath, former director of Wallace House, and his lifelong commitment to international journalism.

About the Speakers

Ismail Einashe, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, is a London-based journalist and author whose work on migration and refugee issues has appeared in numerous publications – including Foreign Policy, The Guardian, BBC News, The Nation, The Sunday Times and ArtReview. He is the author of “Strangers” (2023), a book by Tate Publishing that explores migration through the lens of art, and he co-edited “Lost in Media: Migrant Perspectives and the Public Sphere” (2019), a collection of critical essays examining how migrants are represented in European media. Einashe is also part of a team of journalists working on a cross-border journalism collaborative called Lost in Europe, which investigates the disappearance of child migrants.

Jedrzej Slodkowski, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, is a reporter, editor and current deputy head of the culture section of “Gazeta Wyborcza,” Poland’s largest newspaper. He started his professional journalism career as a music critic 20 years ago. He now specializes in interviews with the most interesting figures in Polish culture. Recently, Słodkowski has focused on migration and refugee issues, editing an annual special edition of “Gazeta Wyborcza” authored by refugees themselves. He has also covered topics such as child slavery in Ghana, Kyiv’s music scene during the war and Nepalese mercenaries hired by Russia to fight in Ukraine.

Sarah Souli, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, has been living and reporting across the Mediterranean for more than a decade. Raised in the U.S. by a French mother and Tunisian father, her multicultural and multilingual background has deeply informed her perspective and work. She is most interested in how behemoth political structures intersect with the resilient and textured lived experiences of people. Her stories, including a multi-year investigation of a triple femicide on the Greek-Turkish border, have appeared in The Atavist, The Economist, POLITICO, The Guardian, Vice Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler and others. Prior to her work as an independent journalist, she was a staff writer for COLORS Magazine.

About the Moderator

Lynette Clemetson is the Charles R. Eisendrath Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists at the University of Michigan.

Co-sponsors:
Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia
Copernicus Center for Polish Studies

Announcing the 2025 Livingston Award Winners

2025 Livingston Award winners (clockwise from top-left) Jessika Harkey of The Connecticut Mirror, Nicole Sadek of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Norman Pearlstine, the Richard M. Clurman Award recipient, Sydney Brownstone and Esmy Jimenez of The Seattle Times and KUOW Public Radio.

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.

Announcing the 2025 Livingston Awards Finalists

Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan today announced the 2025 Livingston Awards finalists in local, national, and international reporting. The awards support young journalists and honor the best reporting and storytelling by journalists under 35 across all forms of journalism. The finalist selections were chosen for work released in 2024.

This year’s winners will be announced on June 10, 2025, at an in-person awards ceremony in New York City hosted by Audie Cornish, Livingston Awards national judge and host of “CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish.”

“In a world where algorithms and devices often constrict our view and narrow our understanding, these finalists exemplify the fierce commitment of reporters to dig beyond dominant narratives. Their work uncovers overlooked stories and voices that demand our attention,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists. “We invite you to read, watch, and listen to some of the most compelling journalism of the past year.”

Now in its 44th year, the awards continue to bolster the work of young reporters, encourage the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and foster civic engagement around powerful storytelling.

The Livingston Awards regional judges read all qualifying entries to select the finalists in local, national and international reporting. The regional judging panel includes Molly Ball, senior political correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Meghna Chakrabarti, host and editor, “On Point,” WBUR; Stella Chávez, investigative reporter, The Texas Newsroom; Adam Ganucheau, editor in chief, Mississippi Today; David Greene, co-founder, Fearless Media; Stephen Henderson, host, WDET, public radio Detroit and Detroit Public Television; and Amna Nawaz, co-anchor, PBS “NewsHour.”

A panel of national judges reviews all finalist entries and selects the winners. The national judges are Audie Cornish; Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “FRONTLINE”; Sally Buzbee, news editor for the United States and Canada, Reuters; Sewell Chan, former executive editor, Columbia Journalism Review; Matt Murray, executive editor, The Washington Post; Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist, The New York Times; María Elena Salinas, independent journalist, formerly of ABC News; Bret Stephens, opinion columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, podcast host, New York Media.

The Livingston Awards are made possible with support from generous sponsors, including the University of Michigan, the Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Foundation, and The Joyce Foundation.

We present the 2025 Livingston Awards finalists. You can find their submitted work here.

Local Reporting

  • Hadley Barndollar, MassLive
  • Ana Claudia Chacin and Clara-Sophia Daly, Miami Herald
  • Shannon Chaffers, New York Amsterdam News
  • Max Chesnes and Emily Mahoney, Tampa Bay Times
  • Wilson Criscione and Kelsey Turner, InvestigateWest
  • Luis Ferré-Sadurní, The New York Times
  • Caroline Ghisolfi, Amelia Winger and Matt deGrood, Houston Chronicle
  • Quinn Glabicki, PublicSource
  • Jessika Harkay, The Connecticut Mirror
  • Grace Hauck and Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project and Better Government Association
  • Ivana Hrynkiw, AL.com
  • Andrea Igliozzi, Rashel Cedeño de Abreu, Christian Vazquez-García and Bryan Albor, Univision 19
  • Cleo Krejci, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  • Asher Lehrer-Small, Houston Landing
  • Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times 
  • Katie Mettler, The Washington Post
  • Juliette Rihl, PennLive and The Patriot-News
  • Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman
  • Mihir Zaveri, The New York Times
  • Alissa Zhu, Jessica Gallagher and Nick Thieme, The Baltimore Banner in partnership with The New York Times

 National Reporting

  • Thomas Birmingham, In These Times
  • Eric Boodman, STAT
  • Chip Brownlee, The Trace
  • Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th
  • Nicole Einbinder and Hannah Beckler, Business Insider
  • Lev Facher, STAT
  • Lauren Gill and Daniel Moritz-Rabson, Bolts in partnership with The Intercept
  • Emily Gogolak, Harper’s Magazine
  • Emma Goldberg, The New York Times
  • Benjamin Guggenheim, POLITICO
  • Esmy Jimenez and Sydney Brownstone, The Seattle Times in partnership with KUOW Public Radio
  • George Joseph and Will Craft, The Guardian US
  • Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica
  • Joseph Lee, Vox
  • Daniel Lombroso, The New Yorker
  • Mark Olalde and Nick Bowlin, ProPublica and Capital & Main
  • Cecilia Reyes, Business Insider
  • Christie Thompson, The Marshall Project
  • Jasmine Wright, NOTUS

 International Reporting

  • Anna-Catherine Brigida, Houston Landing
  • Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone
  • Mari Cohen, Jewish Currents
  • Jeremy Diamond, CNN Worldwide
  • Jessica Fu, Popular Mechanics
  • Raffaele Huang and Tracy Qu, The Wall Street Journal
  • Lizzie Johnson, Anastacia Galouchka and Kamila Hrabchuk, The Washington Post
  • Lasha Madan, 99% Invisible, SiriusXM
  • Charlie Metcalfe, MIT Technology Review
  • Will Neal, New Lines Magazine
  • David Pan and Fasika Tadesse Yimer, Bloomberg News
  • Nicole Sadek, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
  • Liam Scott, Voice of America
  • Dasl Yoon, The Wall Street Journal

More on the finalists’ work and links to watch, listen and read here.

The Eisendrath Symposium: Press Freedom in Central and Eastern Europe in the Age of Putin

Wallace House Presents a WCEE Panel and Eisendrath Symposium Event

With Baktygul Chynybaeva, Holger Roonemaa and Joseph Sywenkyj
Moderated by Geneviève Zubrzycki

4:30 PM | Thursday, February 13, 2025
Rackham Amphitheater, Fourth Floor

Reception following the discussion

Free and open to the public.
This is a non-ticketed event.

Press Freedom in Central and Eastern Europe in the Age of Putin

In the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has taken extraordinary steps to try to silence independent media through bans, censorship and repressive labels like “foreign agents.” This crackdown has spread to Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where some governments are mirroring not only Putin’s laws but also his actions — arresting and even killing journalists to suppress free speech. 

How can journalists safeguard access to accurate information and combat disinformation in the face of these escalating threats?

Join our panel of journalists from the region, featuring Knight-Wallace Fellows Baktygul Chynybaeva of Kyrgyzstan and Holger Roonemaa of Estonia, and Joseph Sywenkyj of Ukraine and the U.S., WCEE Distinguished Fellow and Knight-Wallace Fellow. Moderated by Geneviève Zubrzycki, Director of the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, the group will discuss these critical issues and why their work matters to us all.

The Eisendrath Symposium honors Charles R. Eisendrath, former director of Wallace House, and his lifelong commitment to international journalism.

About the Speakers

Baktygul Chynybaeva, 2024-25 Knight-Wallace Fellow,  is a journalist from Kyrgyzstan with more than 20 years of experience covering healthcare, environmental and human rights issues. Fluent in five languages, she serves as a correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s central newsroom in Prague. Her investigative reporting on the dire condition of children’s cancer care in Kyrgyzstan inspired significant reforms in the country’s policies. Chynybaeva is also actively involved in organizing training sessions and capacity-building programs for journalists across Central Asian countries.

Holger Roonemaa, 2024-25 Knight-Wallace Fellow, manages the investigative and fact-checking team at the daily news site Delfi Estonia. He is also an editor with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He has covered money laundering, corruption and evasion of sanctions, and topics related to national security, espionage and propaganda. In recent years, most of his investigations have focused on Russian security threats in Baltic countries. He led and coordinated the “Kremlin Papers” project, a high-profile investigative collaboration that detailed election interference, information manipulation and territorial aggression by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Joseph Sywenkyj, 2024-25 WCEE Distinguished Fellow and Knight-Wallace Fellow, is an American photographer of Ukrainian descent who has lived and worked in Ukraine for approximately 20 years. His photography throughout Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been published regularly in The Wall Street Journal, as well as in The New York Times. His ongoing photographic series, “Wounds,” is an intimate study of Ukrainian activists and soldiers who were severely wounded during the Euromaidan Revolution and Russia’s current war against Ukraine. Sywenkyj has exhibited his photographs in numerous galleries and museums in both the United States and abroad. He was the recipient of two Fulbright scholarships, one as a student and the other as a scholar, and also received a W. Eugene Smith Grant and an Aftermath Project Grant.

About the Moderator

Geneviève Zubrzycki is the Weiser Family Professor of European and Eurasian Studies and the William H. Sewell, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Sociology at U-M. She is the director of WCEE and the Copernicus Center for Polish Studies. She previously served as director of the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Center for European Studies. Her research focuses on nationalism and religion, collective memory, the post-communist transition, and cultural politics in Eastern Europe and North America. Her award-winning books have been translated into Polish and French. In 2021, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Bronisław Malinowski Prize in the Social Sciences from the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA). She serves on the Board of Directors of The Reckoning Project, an NGO investigating war crimes committed against civilian populations in Ukraine; the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America; and the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie(CRIDAQ) at the Université du Québec à Montréal. 

Co-sponsors:
Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia

This event is produced with support from Knight Foundation.

Announcing the 2024 Livingston Award Winners

2024 Livingston Award winners (clockwise from top-left) Samantha Hogan of The Maine Monitor, Renata Brito of The Associated Press, Kevin Merida, the Richard M. Clurman Award recipient, Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan of KCRW Public Radio (Southern California).

Today the Livingston Awards honor stories that represent the best in local, national and international reporting by journalists under the age of 35. The winning stories include a local news investigation exposing the systematic failures of Maine’s illusive probate courts, a documentary podcast probing timely gender-specific health challenges, and a visually-driven investigation retracing the tragic voyages of West African migrants lost in the Atlantic Ocean on their quest to reach Europe. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2023.

The Livingston Awards also honored Kevin Merida, former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. The prize is given each year to an experienced journalist who has played a pivotal role in guiding and nurturing the careers of young reporters. The award is named for the late Richard M. Clurman, former chief of correspondents for Time-Life News Service and architect of the Livingston Awards.

Livingston Awards national judges Kara Swisher of New York Magazine, Lydia Polgreen of The New York Times, Raney Aronson-Rath of Frontline and Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House, introduced the winners at a ceremony hosted by Livingston Awards emeritus judge Ken Auletta.

“We are honored to recognize this exceptional reporting that uses text, audio and visual storytelling to full effect,” said Lynette Clemetson. “It is especially inspiring to honor the doggedness of these journalists during a period of painful retrenchment in many news organizations. The persistence of young reporters to pursue challenging work with such ambition and creativity pushes our entire industry forward.” 

Celebrating its 43rd year, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, cultivate the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors and advance civic engagement around powerful storytelling. Major sponsors include the University of Michigan, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling and The Joyce Foundation.

The 2024 winners for work released in 2023 are listed below.

Local Reporting

Samantha Hogan, 30, of The Maine Monitor for “Maine’s Part-Time Court,” a year-long investigation into the state’s illusive probate courts. Her reporting exposed stories of individuals whose life savings may have been pocketed by their conservators and revealed eight unexplained deaths of people who were under Maine’s state guardianship.

“Samantha Hogan’s multi-year investigation into an alarming lack of oversight within Maine’s probate courts is a shining example of local journalism at its finest. Her efforts were creative and meticulous: She conducted in-depth interviews with those in the probate system. She crafted and sent surveys to the probate courts. She dove into the research on alternative probate systems. And she submitted public records requests that ultimately revealed the suspicious deaths of eight people under the court’s guardianship. Samantha’s reporting catalyzed grassroots change and strengthened civic engagement and democracy.”
— Kara Swisher, Livingston Awards national judge

National Reporting

Allison Behringer, 33 and Lila Hassan, 28, KCRW Public Radio, for three episodes from Season Four of the podcast “Bodies.” Their stories explored early-onset puberty, postpartum psychosis and the fight for abortion training in a Post-Roe America through the lens of feminism, systemic discrimination and marginalization.

“I have done a lot of tough and dangerous reporting — interviewing warlords, trekking across deserts, dodging bullets in urban warfare. But years of experience have taught me that one of the hardest things to do is to get children to talk — openly, authentically and enthusiastically talk. Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan got kids to open up about some of the most intimate and private parts of their lives — their changing bodies. The “Bodies” episodes honored here are stories of huge social and political importance told in the most intimate and human ways. Innovative and first-rate journalism from start to finish.”
— Lydia Polgreen, Livingston Awards national judge

International Reporting

Renata Brito, 31, The Associated Press for “Adrift/36 Days,” a visually-driven investigation that seamlessly weaves together graphic illustrations, evocative imagery and powerful storytelling. Through meticulous detail, Brito reconstructs the journey of a boat discovered on Tobago’s coast, identifies its deceased passengers and humanizes the plight of migrants.

“Renata Brito’s investigation into a ‘ghost boat’ found in Trinidad and Tobago turned into a two-year cinematic investigation tracking the fatal journey for 43 Mauritanian immigrants trying to make their way to the Canary Islands and ultimately Europe. Despite challenges in accessing information from different governments and not knowing who might have been on this boat, she persisted. The results brought closure to families who had previously been unable to declare their sons dead. Her investigation also spurred a wider look into the ‘ghost boat’ phenomenon and resulted in Renata documenting another horrific journey of a boat at sea for 36 days and the deaths of 63 of the 101 migrants onboard.”
— Raney Aronson-Rath, Livingston Awards national judge

Mentoring Award

Kevin Merida, former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, former editor-in-chief of The Undefeated and former managing editor of The Washington Post, was honored with the Richard M. Clurman Award for his commitment to counseling, nurturing and inspiring young journalists. In a video tribute, journalists from the Los Angeles Times, ESPN and The Washington Post talked about Merida’s encouragement of young reporters and his influence on their careers.

“Nearly every piece of journalism that changed me, challenged me and upped my game as a reporter had Kevin’s imprint and genius behind it. He is the kind of leader I now strive to be – empowering, innovative, accessible, no B.S. He showed so many of us that we could lead in newsrooms as ourselves.”
— Krissah Thompson, The Washington Post

In addition to Swisher, Polgreen and Aronson-Rath, the Livingston national judges panel includes Sally Buzbee, Sewell Chan, Audie Cornish, Matt Murray, María Elena Salinas and Bret Stephens.

More on the winners here.

Announcing the 2024 Livingston Awards Finalists

Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan announced today the 2024 Livingston Awards finalists in local, national, and international reporting. The awards support young journalists and honor the best reporting and storytelling by journalists under the age of 35 across all forms of journalism. The finalist selections were chosen from more than 400 entries for work released in 2023.

This year’s winners will be announced on June 11, 2024, at an in-person awards ceremony hosted by Ken Auletta, media writer for The New Yorker and author.

“In a particularly difficult period of journalism downsizing, it’s an honor to recognize the ambitious work of young reporters,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists. “This year’s finalists share a commitment to truth, accountability, nuance and empathy at a moment in which these qualities can often feel in short supply.” 

Celebrating its 43rd year, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, create the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and advance civic engagement around powerful storytelling. The sponsors include the University of Michigan, the Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.

The Livingston Awards regional judges read all qualifying entries to select the finalists in local, national and international reporting. The regional judging panel includes Molly Ball, senior political correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Meghna Chakrabarti, host and editor, “On Point” WBUR; Stella Chávez, immigration and demographics reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Adam Ganucheau, editor in chief, Mississippi Today; David Greene, co-founder, Fearless Media and Host, “Left, Right & Center,” KCRW (Los Angeles); Stephen Henderson, executive editor, BridgeDetroit and host, WDET, public radio Detroit and Detroit Public Television; and Amna Nawaz, co-anchor, PBS “NewsHour.”

The Livingston Awards national judges review all finalist entries and select the winners. The national judges are Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “FRONTLINE”; Sally Buzbee, executive editor, The Washington Post; Sewell Chan, editor in chief, The Texas Tribune; Audie Cornish, anchor and correspondent, CNN; Matt Murray, former editor in chief, The Wall Street Journal; Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist, The New York Times; María Elena Salinas, contributor, ABC News; Bret Stephens, opinion columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, podcast host, New York Magazine.

We present the 2024 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.

Local Reporting

  • Clare Amari, Houston Landing
  • Antonia Cereijido and Meg Cramer, LAist Studios
  • Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times
  • Shayla Escudero, Albany Democrat-Herald
  • Andrea Gallo, The Times-Picayune and The Advocate
  • Michael Korsh and Neena Hagen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • Jake Bittle and Anita Hofschneider, Grist
  • Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor
  • Daniel Huang, New York Magazine
  • Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal
  • Chris Marquette, CQ Roll Call 
  • Mariam Elba and Paige Pfleger, WPLN Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica
  • Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune
  • Ivy Scott, The Boston Globe
  • Brenna Smith, The Baltimore Banner 
  • Salina Arredondo, Jana Cholakovska, David Leffler and Savanna Strott, Public Health Watch
  • Agnel Philip, Mollie Simon and Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today and ProPublica
  • Makenzie Huber and Annie Todd, South Dakota Searchlight and Sioux Falls Argus Leader

 National Reporting

  • Akbar Shahid Ahmed, HuffPost
  • Ethan Bauer, Deseret Magazine
  • Hannah Beckler, Business Insider
  • Matt Drange, Business Insider
  • Brittany Gibson, Politico
  • Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan, KCRW Public Radio (Southern California)
  • Astead W. Herndon, The New York Times
  • Vivian Ho, The Guardian US
  • Kenny Jacoby, USA Today
  • Ava Kofman, The New Yorker co-published with ProPublica
  • Julia Lurie, Mother Jones
  • Kirsten Berg, Alex Mierjeski and Brett Murphy, ProPublica
  • Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News
  • Brianna Sacks, The Washington Post
  • Lauren Caruba and Ari Sen, The Dallas Morning News in partnership with the San Antonio Express-News
  • Richard Sima, The Washington Post
  • Talmon Joseph Smith, The New York Times
  • Margo Snipe, Capital B

 International Reporting

  • Lynzy Billing, Inside Climate News and New Lines Magazine
  • Nick Bowlin, The Drift
  • Ali Breland, The New Republic
  • Renata Brito, The Associated Press
  • Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald
  • Rachel Fobar, The Guardian US in partnership with The Fuller Project
  • Julia Love, Bloomberg Businessweek
  • Pete McKenzie, The New York Times
  • Kunle Adebajo and Mansir Muhammed, New Lines Magazine and HumAngle
  • Zahra Nader, The Fuller Project and The Guardian US in collaboration with Zan Times
  • Nicolas Niarchos, The Nation
  • Anastacia Galouchka and Siobhan O’Grady, The Washington Post
  • Andrei Popoviciu, In These Times
  • Cape Diamond and Rebecca Tan, The Washington Post
  • Chris Walker, 5280 Magazine
  • Jessie Williams, TIME Magazine in partnership with The Fuller Project 

More on the finalists’ work and links to watch, listen and read here.

The Eisendrath Symposium brings the Oscar-nominated documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”

Wallace House Presents a free screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary “20 Days In Mariupol,” and a conversation with the filmmakers

WCEE Film and Eisendrath Symposium Event
5:30 PM | Monday, FEB. 5, 2024
Michigan Theater

Free and open to the public.
This is a non-ticketed event.
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis

This event will not be live-streamed.

A special screening and conversation

An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war. The documentary shows vivid, harrowing accounts of civilians caught in the siege and a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone and the impact of such journalism around the globe.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The Eisendrath Symposium honors Charles R. Eisendrath, former director of Wallace House, and his lifelong commitment to international journalism.

About the filmmakers

Mstyslav Chernov is a documentary director and video journalist at The Associated Press and president of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. Since joining the AP in 2014, he has covered major conflicts, social issues and environmental crises across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Most recently, Chernov documented Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Together with longtime colleague Evgeniy Maloletka, Chernov recorded the siege of Mariupol, showing the world eyewitness accounts of the Russian attacks on the city in the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol.” Chernov’s reporting in Mariupol earned the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

Raney Aronson-Rath is the editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE, PBS’ flagship investigative journalism series, and is a leading voice on the future of journalism. Aronson-Rath oversees FRONTLINE’s acclaimed investigative reporting on air and online and directs the series’ editorial vision — executive producing more than 20 in-depth documentaries each year on critical issues facing the country and the world. FRONTLINE has won every major award in broadcast journalism under Aronson-Rath’s leadership. She is a producer of the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol.” For nearly two decades, Aronson-Rath has served as a Livingston Awards judge. A program of Wallace House Center for Journalists, the prize honors reporters under the age of 35 and identifies the next generation of journalism leaders. 

Michelle Mizner is an Emmy-winning documentary producer and film editor on staff at FRONTLINE PBS. Her work for the series has been recognized by the Peabodys, World Press Photo, duPont-Columbia Awards, and SXSW. Select titles as a producer and editor include “Life in Baghdad,”  “Inside Yemen,” with correspondent Martin Smith, and “The Last Call” with director Marcela Gaviria. In addition to films, Mizner has produced several acclaimed interactive documentaries, including “Inheritance,” “The Last Generation,” and “Un(re)solved.” She is the producer and editor of the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” her first feature-length film.

Co-sponsors:
Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia
International Institute
Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

This event is produced with support from Knight Foundation.

An Interactive Webinar for Fellowship Applicants

Learn More About the Knight-Wallace Fellowships and Hear from our Alumni.

Are you ready to take the next step in your journalism career with a Knight-Wallace Fellowship? Join our webinar with alumni Makeda Easter ‘23, Chris Marquette ‘23 and Elodie Vialle ‘20 and learn how the fellowship boosted their careers. Hear about their fellowship experiences, ask them your questions, and discover what a year in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan can do for your life and journalism career.

Noon – 1 p.m. ET | Thursday, November 16. 

About the Speakers

Makeda Easter (2022-2023) is a journalist and creative artist based in Chicago. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, she deepened and expanded “the art rebellion,” an art-reporting project that amplifies the essential role of artists in the U.S. and the stories of artists who fight to improve their communities.

Chris Marquette (2022-2023) is a congressional accountability reporter for CQ Roll Call in Washington, D.C., covering the U.S. Capitol Police and lawmaker transgressions. The Knight-Wallace Fellowship enabled him to complete an in-depth investigative series on trends and practices among the U.S. Capitol Police and potential areas for reform.

Elodie Vialle (2019-2020) is a journalist at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard. She is also a Senior Advisor on Digital Safety and Free Expression at PEN America. During her Knight-Wallace Fellowship, she developed safety protocols, programs, and training for journalists facing online attacks.

Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are now open.

The deadline for international applicants is December 1, 2023.

The deadline for U.S. applicants is February 1, 2024.

More About Knight-Wallace Fellowship