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 Delece Smith-Barrow ‘17 and Bernice Yeung ‘16 and learn how the fellowship helped propel their careers. Hear about their application and 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, December 14. RSVP here to receive the Zoom link.
About the Speakers
Delece Smith-Barrow (2016-2017) is an Education Editor at Politico. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow she examined underrepresented minority faculty recruitment in top universities. With ample resources and time, she conducted extensive research and interviews to shed light on diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges in higher education.
Bernice Yeung (2015-2016) is Managing Editor with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Yeung’s fellowship project explored how journalists can employ social science research methods in their reporting. During her fellowship, she conducted research that informed her award-winning book, “In a Day’s Work,” which investigated the sexual assault of immigrant farmworkers and female janitors.
Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are open.
The deadline for U.S. applicants is February 1, 2024.
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 uncovered text messages indicating Mississippi’s misuse of federal welfare funding, the inner working of the U.S. government’s child separation policy, and the atrocities committed by Putin’s army against civilians in Ukraine. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2022.
The Livingston Awards also honored Ken Auletta, author and writer for The New Yorker, with a special tribute for his enduring commitment to the Livingston Awards and the careers of young journalists. Auletta joined the Livingston board of national judges in 1983, the third year of the program, and served in that role through 2022.
Livingston Awards national judges Sewell Chan of The Texas Tribune,María Elena Salinas of ABC News and Matt Murray of News Corp introduced the winners at a ceremony hosted by former Livingston Awards national judge Anna Quindlen, author.
“The best reporters keep looking, questioning and documenting when they are told there is nothing more to see,” said Lynette Clemetson, Livingston Awards director. “This year’s winners laid bare abuses of power and the networks of complicity and complacency that allowed those abuses to unfold. Their work influenced the public record and how history will regard the players and their deeds. It is an honor to recognize them for their tenacity, rigor and storytelling excellence.”
Today’s ceremony included special remarks from Matthew Luxmoore, a Livingston Award finalist and reporter from The Wall Street Journal who covers Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. He spoke at the podium in support of his friend and colleague, Evan Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia since March 29 of this year.
Celebrating its 42nd 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. 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 W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The 2023 winners for work released in 2022 are listed below.
Local Reporting
Anna Wolfe, 28, of Mississippi Today for “The Backchannel: Mississippi’s Welfare Scandal,” a multiyear investigation into Mississippi’s 2% approval rate of applicants for federal welfare funding uncovering text messages between then-Governor Bill Bryant, state officials and Bryant’s friends, including NFL football legend Brett Favre and unraveling the largest public fraud in Mississippi’s history.
“Anna Wolfe’s dogged investigation into Mississippi’s misuse of funds intended to help needy families demonstrates the power of journalism to expose corruption. She was the first to reveal text messaging indicating that welfare funds had been diverted to a pharmaceutical company in which a retired NFL star was an early investor. Her tenacious digging, over multiple years, has had a staggering impact on a state with high levels of poverty and inequality.” — Sewell Chan, Livingston Awards national judge
National Reporting
Caitlin Dickerson, 33, of The Atlantic for “We Need to Take Away Children,” a masterful examination of the U.S. government’s child separation policy revealing how officials at every level heedlessly and often deceptively advanced policy that defied the country’s most basic stated values.
“In her exhaustive reconstruction of the Trump administration’s implementation of its family separation policy, Caitlin Dickerson brought to life jaw-dropping and eye-opening details of how the policy was accepted and implemented at different levels of government. Through exclusive interviews at multiple levels, she meticulously laid out how a handful of people set off a chain reaction of chaos and pain that continues to this day. Her reporting has established a new public record of a devastating episode in our nation’s history.” — María Elena Salinas, Livingston Awards national judge
International Reporting
Vasilisa Stepanenko, 22, of The Associated Press for “A Year of War,” a series of harrowing videos exposing the atrocities against civilians committed by Putin’s army in Ukraine and laying bare the devasting human toll of war.
“In a year that saw a great deal of amazing and powerful work from journalists covering the Ukraine war, Vasilisa’s stories had a unique immediacy and visceral power that vividly bore witness to the impact of the war in her country. Her work had an undeniable impact on the world’s understanding of the struggle. And the great personal courage she displayed amid tremendous peril underscores the stakes of the battle to tell the truth on the ground.” — Matt Murray, Livingston Awards national judge
Special Tribute
Ken Auletta, author, media and communications writer for The New Yorker and Livingston Awards judge from 1983 to 2022.
This year the Livingston Awards honored Ken Auletta with a special tribute for his enduring commitment to the program and the careers of young journalists. Anna Quindlen, author and Livingston Awards judge from 2009 to 2022, presented Auletta with the award and introduced a video with tributes from his fellow Livingston Award judges and past Livingston award winners. Kara Swisher said in the video tribute, “There’s an expression. Anything that can shine does. Ken shines a light on the things that shine, which is really important when it comes to young reporters.” Auletta’s most meaningful legacy is in the lives and careers of journalists he helped transform.
In addition to Buzbee, Chan and Murray, the Livingston national judges panel includes Raney Aronson-Rath of PBS; Audie Cornish of CNN; Lydia Polgreen of The New York Times; Bret Stephens of The New York Times; and Kara Swisher of New York Magazine.
Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan announced today the 2023 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 450 entries for work released in 2022.
This year’s winners will be announced on June 13, 2023, at an in-person awards ceremony hosted by Anna Quindlen with a special tribute to Ken Auletta for his enduring commitment to the Livingston Awards and the careers of young journalists.
“This year’s finalists and the issues they pursued affirm the commitment of young reporters to tackle the toughest of stories,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists. “The breathtaking range of this exceptional work demonstrates the unique ability of journalism to make us stop, take notice, bear witness, and expect accountability.”
Celebrating its 42nd 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, Emerson Collective, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Associated Press and The New Yorker.
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, national political correspondent, TIME; Stella Chávez, immigration and demographics reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Chris Davis, deputy for the Local Investigative Reporting Fellowship, The New York Times; 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; Shirley Leung, columnist and associate editor, The Boston Globe; 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, consultant, News Corp; 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, executive producer, Code Conference.
We present the 2023 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.
Local Reporting
Mayowa AinaandKari Plog, KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times
James Barragánand Davis Winkie, The Texas Tribune and Military Times
Sarah Blaskey and Nicholas Nehamas, Miami Herald
Marisa Gerber, Los Angeles Times
Niki Griswold, Austin American-Statesman
Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor
Maya Kaufman, Crain’s New York Business
David Lefflerand Savanna Strott, Public Health Watch in partnership with The Pulitzer Center, the Investigative Reporting Workshop and Grist
Alex Mann, The Baltimore Sun
Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer
Krystal Nurse, Lansing State Journal
Phoebe PetrovicandNina Earnest, Wisconsin Watch and Wisconsin Public Radio
Albert Samaha, BuzzFeed News
Will Sennott, The New Bedford Light in partnership with ProPublica
Langston TaylorandZachary T. Sampson, Tampa Bay Times
Trisha Thadani, San Francisco Chronicle
Carter Walker, LNP | LancasterOnline
Julie Zauzmer Weil, Adrian Blanco RamosandLeo Dominguez, The Washington Post
Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today
National Reporting
Rachel Adams-Heard andDavis Land, Bloomberg News
Marshall Cohen, Zachary Cohenand Dan Merica, CNN
Jasper Craven, Mother Jones
Gaby Del Valle, TheVerge
Caitlin Dickerson,The Atlantic
Robert Downen, The Houston Chronicle
Nicholas Florko, STAT
AlexHeath, The Verge
Astead W. Herndon, TheNew York Times
Cassandra Jaramillo, Reveal from TheCenter for Investigative Reporting
Caroline Kitchener, The Washington Post
Ava Kofman,The New Yorker and ProPublica
Samantha Michaelsand Mark Helenowski, Mother Jones
Brett Murphy, ProPublica
Elissa NadwornyandLauran Migaki, NPR
Andrea Patiño Contreras, Univision News Digital
AlexandraRain, Deseret News
Lauren Rosenthal, Jamie Hobbsand Anna Canny, American Public Media
Meg Shutzer and Rachel Lauren Mueller, The New York Times and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism
Anjali Singhvi, The New York Times
International Reporting
Lynzy Billing, ProPublica
Regine Cabato and Shibani Mahtani, The Washington Post
Isabelle Khurshudyanand KamilaHrabchuk, The Washington Post
Oscar Lopez, The New York Times
Matthew Luxmoore, The Wall Street Journal
Lyse Mauvais and Solin Muhammed Amin, Al-Monitor
Leila Miller, Los Angeles Times
Alexander Sammon, The New Republic
Mia Sato, The Verge
Emily Schultheis, Coda Story
SarahSouli, The Atavist
Vasilisa Stepanenko, The Associated Press
Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post
Elizabeth Trovall, Houston Chronicle
Vivian Yee, Allison McCann and Josh Holder, The New York Times
More on the finalists’ work and links to watch, listen and read here.
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 highlight Texas’s troubled mental healthcare system, the spread of viral disinformation and its effects on personal relationships, and the darker side of a religious order founded by Mother Theresa. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2021.
The Livingston Awards also honored the late Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor of The Washington Post, with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. The $5,000 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 prize 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 Raney Aronson-Rath of Frontline, María Elena Salinas of ABC News, Anna Quindlen, author, and Bret Stephens of The New York Times introduced the winners at a ceremony, hosted by former long-serving Livingston Awards national judge Dean Baquet of The New York Times.
“Reading the Livingston Award entries we are reminded of the power of journalism to chronicle not just the biggest stories of the moment, but also looming crises and long ago misdeeds only now being called to account. This year’s winners each crafted beautifully nuanced portraits of the consequences of systemic failures and loss of trust in institutions,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House. “Through meticulous reporting, they leave us no choice but to ponder the responsibility of those in power and our individual roles in either perpetuating or changing the systems that guide our lives.”
Celebrating its 41st 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, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Fred and Judy Wilpon Foundation, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, and Google News Inititative.
The 2022 winners for work released in 2021 are listed below.
Local Reporting
Alex Stuckey, 31, of the Houston Chronicle for “In Crisis,” an investigation of Texas’s mental health facilities, revealing an underfunded system shrouded in secrecy, where patient care takes a backseat to blame-avoidance. Her work prompted new state procedures and legislation to begin to address these problems.
“Alex Stuckey’s vivid accountability journalism about the challenges people living with severe mental illness face in Texas reveals a state in crisis and a serious bureaucratic breakdown with devastating human consequences. The systematic failure in Texas set against the stories of individual families is both urgent and heartbreaking and a model of great journalism. Drawing on a long-standing personal interest in care for those living with mental illness, her investigation illustrates a complex web of state level policies and failures that have a dire impact on the people who need the services the most.” – Raney Aronson-Rath
National Reporting
Jose A. Del Real, 31, of The Washington Post for “Truth, Trust and Conspiracy Theories in America,” a series examining viral disinformation, how it spreads and the impact it has on the personal relationships of those involved.
“As we try to navigate this complicated world we are living in, chock full of divisions and conspiracy theories that lead to anger and hatred, it is refreshing to read the humanity that Jose Del Real put into his stories on this very perplexing issue. He treats his characters with respect and compassion and helps the reader try to understand what moves them. Jose Del Real is a gem who so eloquently reminds us that conspiracy theories are part of American history and that only truth and trust can attempt to overcome them.” – María Elena Salinas
International Reporting
Erika Lantz, 31, and Elin Lantz Lesser, 30, of RococoPunch and iHeartRadio for “The Turning, The Sisters Who Left” a podcast series exploring the insular world of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Mother Theresa, and the darker side of devotion.
“Sometimes it is the intimate, the human, that unexpectedly illuminates the great world for us. That was the case for me with ‘The Turning: The Sisters Who Left.’ In the anguished words of women who had entered the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Mother Teresa, I heard the classic dilemma of women’s lives: sacrifice versus freedom. Following faith and seeking to serve the poor, these women had discovered a system of isolation and control that began to break their spirits. Their stories were told with such care and sensitivity that their struggles lived within me afterward, less a podcast, more a world.” – Anna Quindlen
Mentoring Award
Fred Hiatt, editorial editor of The Washington Post, was honored posthumously with the Richard M. Clurman Award for his personal commitment to counsel, nurture and inspire young journalists.
“Somehow, Fred saw through the writer I was to the writer I wanted to be, one I couldn’t have become without his patience and support, one encouraging email at a time…Fred must have had access to some reservoir of time that most people do not, because I can name dozens of people who feel the same gratitude for the doors he opened.” – Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post.
In addition to Aronson-Rath, Salinas, Quindlen and Stephens, the Livingston national judging panel includes Ken Auletta of The New Yorker;John Harris of Politico; Matt Murray of The Wall Street Journal; Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune; Lydia Polgreen of Gimlet; and Kara Swisher of The New York Times and Vox Media.
Wallace House and the University of Michigan announced today the 2022 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 52 finalist selections were chosen from more than 450 entries for work released in 2021.
This year’s winners will be announced on June 8, 2022, at an in-person awards ceremony hosted by Dean Baquet, long-serving Livingston Award judge and executive editor of The New York Times.
“As the world continues to move through various types of upheaval, it’s encouraging to see younger journalists taking on and tackling important and complex stories,” said Wallace House Director Lynette Clemetson, Wallace House Director.
Celebrating its 41st 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, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Fred and Judy Wilpon Foundation, and Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.
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, national political correspondent, TIME; Stella Chávez, immigration and demographics reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Chris Davis, executive editor and Vice-President of Investigative Journalism, Gannett; David Greene, host, “Ukraine Stories,” Fearless Media; Stephen Henderson, host, “Detroit Today,” WDET; Shirley Leung, columnist and associate editor, The Boston Globe; and Amna Nawaz, senior national correspondent, 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”; Ken Auletta, author and media and communications writer, The New Yorker; John Harris, co-founder, POLITICO; Matt Murray, editor in chief, The Wall Street Journal; Clarence Page, syndicated columnist; Lydia Polgreen, head of content, Gimlet; Anna Quindlen, author; María Elena Salinas, contributor, ABC News; Bret Stephens, op-ed columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, executive producer, Code Conference and host of the podcasts “Sway” and “Pivot.”
We present the 2022 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.
Local Reporting
Jessica Bakeman, New York Magazine
Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald
Zoë Carpenter, The Nation
Rebecca Ellis, Oregon Public Broadcasting
Callie Ferguson, The Bangor Daily News
Amelia Ferrell Knisely and Molly Born, Mountain State Spotlight and The GroundTruth Project
Marie J. French, POLITICO
Amy Julia Harris, The New York Times
Madison Hopkins and Cecilia Reyes, Better Government Association and the Chicago Tribune
Cary Junior II, Detroit Free Press
Mark Keierleber, The 74
Danae King, The Columbus Dispatch
Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune
Mandy McLaren, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times
Jessica Miller, Paighten Harkins, Abby Ellis, Taylor Eldridge, Sam Stecklow and Muna Mohamed FRONTLINE in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune
Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post
Andrew Seidman, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle
Evey Wilson Wetherbee, Georgia Public Broadcasting
National Reporting
Jess Bidgood, The Boston Globe
Jamelle Bouie, The New York Times
Tony Briscoe, ProPublica
Claire Hannah Collins, Los Angeles Times
Maddy Crowell, The Atavist Magazine
Jose A. Del Real, The Washington Post
Hannah Dreyfus, ProPublica
Katelyn Ferral, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Maggie Freleng and Julieta Martinelli, Futuro Media/PRX
Drew Harwell, The Washington Post
Baxter Holmes, ESPN
Lauren Leatherby, The New York Times
Claire McNear, The Ringer
Laura C. Morel and Mohamed Al Elew, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting
Cecilia Nowell, New York Magazine’s The Cut
Rita Omokha, ELLE
Lizzie Presser, ProPublica
Roman Stubbs, The Washington Post
Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr., Gimlet Media
Kaveh Waddell and Maanvi Singh, Consumer Reports and The Guardian
International Reporting
Rachael Bale, National Geographic
Max Bearak, Júlia Ledur and Dylan Moriarty, The Washington Post
Khalid Bencherif, In These Times
Olivia Carville, Bloomberg Businessweek
Gloria Dickie, Scientific American
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, The New York Times
Sanket Jain, The Verge (Vox Media)
May Jeong, New York Magazine
Olivia Konotey-Ahulu, Bloomberg News
Erika Lantz and Elin Lantz Lesser, Rococo Punch and iHeartRadio
Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim, The Washington Post
Wallace House created the Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellowship in 2020 to address the remote needs of Covid-19. We challenged journalists to report on significant issues in a moment of great difficulty and change. Our expectations were high, and the first class of Reporting Fellows exceeded them. Teaming with organizations across the U.S., the Reporting Fellows’ work ranged from long-form pieces to creating a new beat for a news organization to developing innovative forms of storytelling. Here is some of the work produced and published by our 2021 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows.
Lisa Armstrong, “Lost Opportunity, Lost Lives,” The Marshall Project in partnership with Mother Jones, June 29, 2021
A feature story on Covid-19 and the failure of prisons to prevent sickness and death among older inmate populations. Despite state Governors’ approval of early release for nonviolent offenders to reduce crowds in correctional facilities, Lisa Armstrong found older people – those most vulnerable to Covid-19 and least likely to reoffend – remained incarcerated.
When schools across the nation turned to distance-learning methods, Sindya Bhanoo reported on the large swaths of students left behind. She published a series for Texas Monthly on students without broadband access and bus drivers-turned-relief-workers delivering meals to the hungry in their communities. Her six-month multimedia project for Mission Local layered audio storytelling and illustration to examine the challenges faced by children during the public health crisis.
In the aftermath of the racial justice protests against police brutality, injured protesters filed lawsuits in cities across the country. J. Lester Feder reports on the case against the City of Columbus, the violent video evidence, and the ruling condemning biased policing.
Mya Frazer’s deeply reported story sheds light on credit bureaus and the permanent credit underclass in the U.S. Stained by low credit scores and rejected by rental companies, thousands of Americans resort to extended-stay motels as a last – and very expensive – refuge.
Partnering with The Guardian US, Mario Koran published a series of stories on barriers to learning in Wisconsin’s marginalized schools upended by the pandemic. From a struggling public school in Milwaukee to the state’s only Objiwe immersion school, Koran reported on the long-reaching consequences of in-person school closings and what it means for those communities.
For decades, the debate on healthcare in the U.S. has focused on affordability and accessibility with little talk about the millions of unnecessary surgeries performed annually. Chris Outcalt reveals the story behind a cardiologist who carried out thousands of avoidable heart surgeries, a whistle-blower, and why doctors get away with unnecessary procedures.
Nicholas St. Fleur partnered with STAT News to create a new beat on the intersection of race, medicine, and the life sciences. He published a series of stories on the vaccine rollout and how Covid-19 disproportionately affects minority communities. St. Fleur’s fellowship partnership led to a permanent staff position at STAT News, where he is now is a general assignment reporter and associate editorial director of events.
Wallace House and the University of Michigan announced today the 2021 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 50 finalist selections were chosen from more than 500 entries for work released in 2020.
This year’s Livingston Award winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony on June 10, 2021. Hosted by Christiane Amanpour, former Livingston Award winner and judge, the event is open to everyone. Information and registration can be found here.
“We are proud and honored to acknowledge and showcase the reporting of this year’s Livingston Award finalists, who produced exceptional works of journalism despite the numerous intersecting challenges facing the nation today,” said Wallace House Director Lynette Clemetson. “That we received more than 500 strong entries this year is testament to the conviction and dedication of young journalists to pursue stories that need to be told, especially in the most difficult times.”
Celebrating its 40th 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, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Fred and Judy Wilpon Foundation, and Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.
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, national political correspondent, Time; Stella Chávez, immigration and demographics reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Chris Davis, executive editor and Vice-President of Investigative Journalism, Gannett; David Greene, former host, “Morning Edition,” NPR; Stephen Henderson, host, “Detroit Today,” WDET; Shirley Leung, columnist and associate editor, The Boston Globe; and Amna Nawaz, senior national correspondent, 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,”; Ken Auletta, author and media and communications writer, The New Yorker; Dean Baquet, executive editor, The New York Times; John Harris, co-founder, Politico; Matt Murray, editor in chief, The Wall Street Journal; Clarence Page, syndicated columnist; Lydia Polgreen, head of content, Gimlet; Anna Quindlen, author; María Elena Salinas, contributor, CBS News; Bret Stephens, op-ed columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, executive producer, Code Conference and host of the podcasts “Sway” and “Pivot.”
We present the 2021 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.
Local Reporting
Haley BeMiller, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Lauren Caruba, San Antonio Express-News
Lakeidra Chavis, The Trace in partnership with The Chicago Sun-Times
Ann Choi, Rachel Holiday Smith and Will Welch, The City (NY, NY)
Jessica Contrera, The Washington Post
Courtney Crowder, The Des Moines Register
Andrew Ford, Asbury Park Press in partnership with ProPublica
Eileen Grench, The City (NY, NY)
Samantha Hogan and Agnel Philip, The Maine Monitor and ProPublica with support from Report for America
Lizzie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Josh Kaplan, DCist in partnership with Spotlight DC
Soumya Karlamangla, Los Angeles Times
Ana Ley, The Virginian-Pilot
Nichole Manna, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune
Thad Moore, The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
Bridget Read, New York Magazine
Eric Sandy, Cleveland Scene
Joshua Sharpe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
National Reporting
Kenzi Abou-Sabe, Adiel Kaplan and Kit Ramgopal, NBC News Investigative Unit
Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed News
Bethany Barnes, Tampa Bay Times
Eric Boodman, STAT
Sydney Brownstone, Scott Greenstone and Will James, KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times
Elizabeth Bruenig, The New York Times
Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th
Elizabeth Dias, The New York Times
Hannah Dreier, The Washington Post
Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken, CNN
Katie Engelhart, The California Sunday Magazine
Alissa Escarce, Max Siegelbaum and Mazin Sidahmed, Documented, Latino USA and Type Investigations
Eli Hager, The Marshall Project in partnership with The Atlantic
Ellen Huet and Shawn Wen, Bloomberg News
Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project
Daniel Lombroso, The Atlantic
Alysia Santo and Elaine Sheldon, The Marshall Project in partnership with FRONTLINE and America ReFramed on WORLD Channel
Emily Shugerman, The Daily Beast
Roman Stubbs, The Washington Post
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic
International Reporting
Josh Baker, FRONTLINE
Luisa Conlon, Gabriela Dematteis and Paola Ramos, Vice News
Maddy Crowell, Virginia Quarterly Review
Chao Deng, The Wall Street Journal
Caitlin Dickerson, The New York Times
Emily Feng, NPR
Ruby Gaviola, Lauryn Schroeder and Kate Morrissey, San Diego Union-Tribune
Claire Harbage and Kat Lonsdorf, NPR in partnership with the John Alexander Project
Isayen Herrera and Julie Turkewitz, The New York Times
Wallace House and the University of Michigan announced today the 2020 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 56 finalist selections were chosen from more than 500 entries for work released in 2019.
This year’s Livingston Award winners will be announced on the Wallace House website and Twitter on June 4, 2020 and honored in person in June 2021, when we hope to return to our traditional awards luncheon. We will not gather this year due to public health concerns.
“This year’s Livingston Award finalists affirm the persistence, commitment and creativity of journalists to push beyond the surface to reveal complex truths and illuminate the human experience,” said Wallace House Director Lynette Clemetson. “The more than 500 entries we received are a testament to the role young journalists play in pushing the craft forward despite industry challenges and public efforts to invalidate journalism’s role in society. In recognizing these finalists we hope to extend the reach of their work and encourage the further development of their careers.”
Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the University of Michigan to support the vital role of a free and independent press, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, create the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and advance civic engagement around powerful storytelling. Other sponsors include the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour and Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.
The Livingston Awards regional judges read all qualifying entries to select the finalists in local, national and international reporting. The regional judging panel includes: Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “Frontline,” PBS; Molly Ball, national political correspondent, Time; Stella Chávez, education reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Chris Davis, Vice-President of Investigative Journalism, Gannett; David Greene, host, “Morning Edition,” NPR; Stephen Henderson, host, “Detroit Today,” WDET; and Shirley Leung, columnist and associate editor, The Boston Globe.
The Livingston Awards national judges review all finalist entries and select the winners. The national judges are Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent, CNNi and host, “Amanpour on PBS”; Ken Auletta, author and media and communications writer, The New Yorker; Dean Baquet, executive editor, The New York Times; John Harris, co-founder, Politico; Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune; Anna Quindlen, author; María Elena Salinas, contributor, CBS News; Bret Stephens, op-ed columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, editor at large, Recode.
We present the 2020 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.
Local Reporting
Jenny Abamu, WAMU
Bridget Balch, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Michael Barajas, Texas Observer
Neil Bedi, Tampa Bay Times
Caroline Chen, ProPublica co-published with NJ Advance Media and WNYC
Emily Corwin, New Hampshire Public Radio
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge, Type Investigations in partnership with The Appeal
Allie Gross, Detroit Free Press
Alyssa Hodenfield, The Sacramento Bee
Lizzie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Marisa M. Kashino, Washingtonian
Spencer Kent, NJ Advance Media
Taylor Mirfendereski, KING 5
Danielle Muoio, POLITICO New York
Tim Prudente, The Baltimore Sun
Dylan Segelbaum and Amber South, The York Daily Record
Marina Starleaf Riker, San Antonio Express-News
Alain Stephens, The Trace in partnership with NBC Bay Area, NBC San Diego and NBC Los Angeles
National Reporting
Emily Baumgaertner, Los Angeles Times
Sarah Blaskey, Nicholas Nehamas and Caitlin Ostroff, Miami Herald
Helena Bottemiller Evich, POLITICO
Assia Boundaoui, PBS’s POV
Jacob Carah, Abby Ellis and Kayla Ruble, FRONTLINE
Ashley Cleek and Janice Llamoca, Latino USA
Jessica Contrera, The Washington Post
Robert Downen, Houston Chronicle
Katie Engelhart, The California Sunday Magazine
Ryan Felton, Consumer Reports
Brian Freskos, The Trace in partnership with The New Yorker
Kenny Jacoby, USA TODAY Network
Emily Kassie, The Marshall Project in partnership with The Guardian
Julia Lurie, Mother Jones
Jenna McLaughlin, Yahoo News
Jack Nicas, The New York Times
Bobby Olivier and Michael Sol Warren, NJ Advance Media
Kendall Taggart, BuzzFeed News
Emily Tate, EdSurge and WIRED
Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel, The New York Times
International Reporting
Rosalind Adams, BuzzFeed News
Lama Al-Arian and Ruth Sherlock, NPR
Sarah Butrymowicz, The Hechinger Report in partnership with Marie Claire
Stories about the women who brought down U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, the murder of a gang leader at the highest security prison in the U.S., and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s Facebook-fueled rise to power won the Livingston Awards today. The $10,000 prizes honor outstanding achievement in local, national and international reporting and recognize the best journalism by professionals under age 35 across of all platforms, including text, visual and audio storytelling.
The Livingston Awards also honored the late Rob Hiaasen of the Capital Gazette with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. The $5,000 prize is given each year to an experienced journalist who has played an active role in guiding and nurturing the careers of young reporters. The prize is named for the late Richard M. Clurman, former chief of correspondents for Time-Life News Service and architect of the Livingston Awards.
Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the University of Michigan to support the vital role of a free and independent press, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, create the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and advance civic engagement around powerful storytelling. Other sponsors include the Indian Trial Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, and Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.
Livingston Awards national judges Anna Quindlen, author, Ken Auletta of The New Yorker and Bret Stephens of The New York Times, and Livingston Awards regional judge, Stephen Henderson of WDET (Detroit) introduced the winners today at a luncheon in New York City.
“This year’s winners represent exceptional reporting and storytelling, illuminating both personal journeys and systemic failings,” says Livingston Awards Director Lynette Clemetson. “Whether through ubiquitous social platforms, elite athletics or prison gangs, these stories expand public understanding of how powerful networks are manipulated and exploited.”
The 2019 winners for work published in 2018 are:
Local Reporting
Lindsey Smith and Kate Wells of Michigan Radio and NPR for the podcast series “Believed,” a haunting and multifaceted account of U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s belated arrest and an intimate look at how an army of women – a detective, a prosecutor and survivors – brought down the serial sex offender.
“Big stories wind up told in broad strokes. Instead of amplifying their power, that sometimes makes them less accessible as human drama. Lindsey Smith and Kate Wells of Michigan Radio decided to go the other way, which is why their pieces on Larry Nassar grabbed me by the throat,” says Anna Quindlen. “They illuminate, not the judicial process, but the people: the uber-mom who won’t back down from a fight, the father who never suspected and whose torment suffuses his voice, the investigators and, of course, the survivors. These reporters use the small details of a big story to give it a human scale.”
National Reporting
Chris Outcalt of The Atavist Magazine for “Murder at the Alcatraz of the Rockies,” a riveting narrative of a prison murder committed under the gaze of security cameras, a rookie FBI agent and the inner workings of the Mexican Mafia, a criminal prison organization spawned in California juvenile facilities in the 1950s.
“The best journalism doesn’t always cover the best-known stories. Chris Outcalt’s extraordinary reporting introduces readers to sides of American life few people will ever see: life within the country’s most secure prison, an infamous gang’s rules of violence and honor, and the decade-long investigation and trial of a killing that is nothing like the open-and-shut case it first appears to be,” says Bret Stephens. “Outcalt’s writing grips the reader’s attention from the first sentence to the last and doesn’t waste a word. It reminds us at every turn of the humanity of our most dangerous felons, the complexity of their motives, and the difficulty of ascertaining truth and doing justice.”
International Reporting
Davey Alba of Buzzfeed News for “How Duterte Used Facebook to Fuel the Philippine Drug War,” a sweeping investigation of Facebook’s breakneck proliferation in the Philippines and how President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime weaponized the social media platform to spread fake news, imprison dissenters and murder innocent Filipinos.
“Davey Alba’s reporting brings home the immense power of digital platforms. We see how Facebook created the ultimate walled garden in the Philippines by subsidizing the Internet, thus making Facebook synonymous not just with getting online but as the primary source of news,” says Ken Auletta. “By relying on algorithms rather than humans to police news and content, Facebook ignored how fake news went viral and was used by a corrupt government to punish opponents, sometimes with death. Rather than hire editors to police false news, Facebook engineers hubristically believed their algorithms would do the job, thus saving money. This is what they’ve done around the world, with sometimes bloody consequences.”
Mentoring Award
The late Rob Hiaasen was honored with the Richard M. Clurman Award for his newsroom commitment to counseling, nurturing and inspiring young journalists. Hiaasen was the assistant editor and columnist at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland and a lecturer at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. In June 2018, he was killed in a mass shooting at the Capital Gazette offices, along with Gerald Fischman, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters, in the deadliest attack on journalists in the United States on record. In a video tribute at the luncheon, former colleagues spoke about Hiaasen’s influence on their writing, approach to storytelling and his encouragement of young journalists.
In addition to Quindlen, Stephens and Auletta, the Livingston national judging panel includes Christiane Amanpour of CNNi and PBS; Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune; Dean Baquet of The New York Times; John Harris of Politico; María Elena Salinas, independent journalist and producer; and Kara Swisher of Recode.
About the Livingston Awards:
The Livingston Awards for Young Journalists are the most prestigious honor for professional journalists under the age of 35 and are the largest all-media, general reporting prizes in American journalism. Entries from print, online, visual and audio storytelling are judged against one another, as technology blurs distinctions between traditional platforms. The $10,000 prizes are awarded annually for local, national and international reporting. The Livingston Awards are a program of Wallace House at the University of Michigan, home to the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Wallace House Presents event series. Learn more at wallacehouse.umich.edu/Livingston-awards.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit: knightfoundation.org.
Meet the 2018 winners of the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists. From landing their first journalism jobs to breaking investigative award-winning pieces, they will examine ways to get noticed, dig deeper and tell powerful stories.
Panelists:
Michael S. Schmidt, 2018 Livingston Award winner for national reporting. A full year before the #MeToo movement gained traction, Michael Schmidt and Emily Steel dug into a decade old lawsuit filed against Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. What the Times’ team uncovered would lead to the discovery of $45 million in sexual harassment settlements involving O’Reilly and topple cable news’ biggest star.Schmidt is a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. For the past year, his coverage has focused on Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into links between Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia and whether the president obstructed justice.
Christina Goldbaum, 2018 Livingston Award winner for international reporting. Christina Goldbaum’s on-the-ground reporting on growing U.S. military engagement and counter-terrorism efforts in Africa has become essential reading. In her series for The Daily Beast, Goldbaum pieced together a military raid that is alleged to have resulted in the deaths of 10 Somali civilians, including at least one child.Goldbaum is an independent journalist based in Mogadishu. She has written for The New York Times, Foreign Policy, USA Today, The Daily Beast, VICE and The Wall Street Journal, and has produced TV segments for “PBS NewsHour,” Netflix and “VICE News Tonight” on HBO.
Moderator:
Chris Davis, Vice-President for Investigative Journalism at Gannett and Livingston Awards judge. Davis oversees USA Today’s major investigative efforts at Gannett’s newspapers across the country, providing guidance to national, regional and local watchdog projects. Previously, he was the deputy editor for investigations and data at the Tampa Bay Times. As an I-team editor, he led investigations that earned three Pulitzer Prizes and two Livingston Awards.