These are the winners that were selected from nearly 550 entries to the Deadline Club’s 2025 Awards Contest. Winners were announced at the Deadline Club’s annual Awards Dinner on Thursday, May 15 at the Harvard Club. More info here.
If you are a winner, you can request an additional statuette for a fee by filling out this form: https://bit.ly/DeadlineAwardRequest.
If you would like a digital or print certificate as a finalist, you can fill out this form: https://bit.ly/DeadlineFinalist
Questions or comments: awards@deadlineclub.org
Newspaper or Digital Beat Reporting
The Forward “Coverage of American Jewish philanthropy in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war” Arno Rosenfeld
The stories provide much-needed nuance on how American Jewish philanthropies made decisions about deploying or holding back on the millions of dollars they raised as the Israel-Hamas war unfolded. With detailed reporting from the ground, great sourcing, and tracking down fundraising/expenditure data and an internal meeting recording, Arno Rosenfeld gives readers an insight into cases where American Jews needed to pick sides.
Newspaper or Digital Feature Reporting
The New York Times “The Hotel Guest Who Wouldn’t Leave” Matthew Haag
This gripping saga of a hotel guest who would not leave a midtown Manhattan hotel has every element of a prize-winning feature: a captivating subject, an outrageous yet compelling arc, and a denouement that will leave readers gasping. In short, this is the stuff of which dreams—of a great reporter and chronicler like Matthew Haag—are made.
Newspaper or Digital Breaking News Reporting
Bloomberg “Crowdstrike Outage Explained” Amy Thomson, Shona Ghosh, Vlad Savov, Jordan Robertson and Ryan Gallagher
When a faulty software update from cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike triggered a global IT meltdown, Bloomberg’s reporting team sprang into action. Within hours, they delivered more than 20 stories, explainers, and newsletters that not only chronicled the widespread disruptions but also revealed the deeper risks threatening critical systems worldwide. Their swift, in-depth coverage and analysis set the standard for breaking news reporting.
Newspaper or Digital Enterprise Reporting
ProPublica “The Unbefriended” Jake Pearson
The Unbefriended by Jake Pearson stood out as the clear winner for its outstanding reporting, strong storytelling, and positive community impact. The detailed research, extensive interviews, inclusion of broad perspectives, and respect for sources demonstrate a level of professionalism and dedication that honors the noble profession of journalism.
Newspaper or Digital Local News Reporting
WNYC-New York Public Radio “Hot spots: NYPD data shows most shootings occur on the same blocks, year after year” Brittany Kriegstein and Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
This entry exemplified data journalism at its finest by combining rigorous statistical analysis with deeply humane reporting. What elevates this work beyond mere data visualization is how the reporters immersed themselves in the affected communities, conducting extensive interviews with residents, community leaders, and public safety experts. They walked these blocks themselves, spending time understanding the complex socioeconomic factors that contribute to these patterns of violence. The story skillfully balanced hard data with personal stories, making the human cost of gun violence clear and avoided sensationalism.
Reporting by Newspapers with Circulation under 100,000
The Highlands Current “Modern Immigrants” Joey Asher
Outstanding reporting on immigration. What stood out most were the compelling firsthand accounts that brought a national issue home, making it deeply personal for local readers. The series did an excellent job breaking down complex legal pathways in a way that was clear and useful. The personality profiles shined, putting real human faces behind the numbers. One piece that really stuck with us was the unexpected yet insightful look at rising ESL enrollments—not a strain on school resources, but a sign of a changing, thriving community.
Reporting by Independent Digital Media
The Marshall Project, Reveal and Mississippi Today “Policing and Prosecution of Pregnancy” Shoshana Walter and Cary Aspinwall, The Marshall Project, and Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today
Top-notch reporting, real-world impact and, rarest of all, a fresh angle. The rollback of abortion rights nationwide has been well covered. But the notion of pregnancy itself as a focus for punitive government policies targeting low-income women is a new and terrifying revelation.
Magazine Personal Service
Consumer Reports “Produce Without Pesticides” Catherine Roberts, Trisha Calvo, Joel Keehn
Very well researched, useful, and easy to understand. The “how to” section offered practical solutions. These days, that’s more important than just telling us what the problem is.
Magazine Profile
TIME “‘Putin Is My Enemy.’ The Revolution of Yulia Navalnaya” Simon Shuster
In these uncertain political times where post WWII alliances are being reconsidered by the current administration – it’s ever so relevant to understand the opposition movement to one of the President’s longtime idols. The profile of Yulia Navalnaya is not just about the woman who takes up the mantle of the opposition movement after her husband’s death in captivity as a political prisoner, but also a story of love, devotion and loyalty – loyalty to the ideals & freedoms that have eluded Russia under Putin’s rule. Yulia Navalnaya’s story is a story of the sacrifices of martyrdom and the price of freedom that many in our society too often take for granted.
Magazine Investigative Reporting
Vanity Fair “Inside the Bungled Bird Flu Response, Where Profits Collide With Public Health” Katherine Eban
A compelling investigation into the USDA’s alarmingly ineffectual reaction to the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cows stood out in a competitive field for its concise, detailed analysis as well as the effort and enterprise involved in reporting. The timely story had significant impact after publication, raising public awareness of previously unreported issues and leading the USDA to finally deploy systematic nationwide surveillance and testing for the virus.
Magazine Feature Reporting
Bloomberg Businessweek “The Egg: A Story of Extraction, Exploitation and Opportunity” Bloomberg Staff
Wide-ranging reporting that spans the globe, includes numerous interviews and incorporates multimedia aspects. It’s a deep dive into an aspect of women’s reproductive rights that is not being talked about enough, at a time when there is a conservative crackdown on the overall issue. This was also a well-reported and fascinating look at how poorly regulated the egg-donation industry is.
Arts Reporting
Artnet “The Art Detective” Katya Kazakina
This Artnet series peeled back the curtain on a surprising shift in a long-hot market, and explained why it’s happening by speaking to the people who live and breathe it. The writing was approachable and crystal clear. And we the judges learned something new!
Business Feature
The New York Times “How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular” David Gauvey Herbert
“Cheer Inc.” exposes the influence and evolution of a monopolistic juggernaut, Varsity Spirit, a company which has dominated the multibillion dollar world of cheerleading for several decades. The story takes readers on a heartbreaking journey behind the scenes of an industry plagued by head and back injuries; sexual harassment; and abuse of children. The story chronicles the biggest drivers of growth of the cheer business, from private equity to the raw ambition of Varsity’s founder, Jeff Webb. Based on thousands of pages of unsealed court documents and information from industry insiders, the story has important implications for parents, regulators, and any child with a cheerleading dream.
Business Investigative Reporting
Reuters “Fentanyl Express” Reuters Team
Reuters’ creative and innovative approach to explaining how fentanyl gets into the United States and how hard it is to prevent it stood out. Reporting even at personal risk, journalists traveled to dangerous regions, met with drug dealers, contended with spyware planted on their cell phones, and delicately navigated legalities to demonstrate how easy it is to procure fentanyl’s ingredients. What these stories make clear is that Canada and Mexico are not the source of fentanyl in the U.S.
Opinion Writing
The New York Times “If My Dying Daughter Could Face Her Mortality, Why Couldn’t the Rest of Us?” Sarah Wildman
Not only does Sarah Wildman tell a gripping and heartbreaking story, but she makes a compelling and thought-provoking argument that we, as a culture, need to re-examine how we think and talk about children dying of disease. This conversation might be a new one for many – and this is Wildman’s point: We aren’t talking about this enough, and doing so would help us all, from sick children and their families to their guilt-ridden doctors.
Science, Technology, Medical or Environmental Reporting
Inside Climate News “Cashing Out” Katie Surma, Nicholas Kusnetz
Inside Climate News reporters investigate how corporations in fossil fuel and other extractive industries use international treaties to sue governments for enacting environmental protections. These lawsuits have yielded over $110 billion in corporate settlements worldwide. Their exposé reveals a shadowy arbitration system—bankrolled by Wall Street financiers—that forces nations including Greenland, Honduras, Australia, and the U.S. to spend millions defending against claims demanding massive payouts, including for lost future profits, gutting protections, crippling small and developing countries, and accelerating environmental breakdown and the global climate crisis.
Sports Reporting
Rolling Stone “Sportsbook Nation” David Hill
This is sports journalism that takes readers beyond the game story, not just to places many stories and readers don’t go, but to the people involved and inside the minds of those people related to this aspect of following athletic competition. The intrigue keeps the reader engaged throughout. We get the facts, we get the background, and we learn the broader issue of sports gambling through interesting, great storytelling.
Breaking News Photo
The Associated Press “Shots Fired, Butler, Pa.”, Evan Vucci
The defining image of the decade. Of the many photographs of the assassination attempt, Benny Snyder’s best captures the narrative power of Mr. Trump’s famous gesture.
Feature Photo
The Associated Press “Casting into the Mediterranean” Hassan Ammar
Hassan Ammar’s photograph of a fisherman casting his line into the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut captured the judges’ attention. Ammar’s photo beautifully captured the life, movement and colors of the scene while showing technical skill by using a long exposure to capture the movement of the sea while keeping the stationary subject in sharp focus.
Sports Photo
Newsday “Professional Bull Riders in New York” J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
The sports photojournalism stands out by taking viewers into the action, the showmanship and the intensity of this athletic competition with great framing, the right camera angle and a focus on what these competitors do that cannot be missed.
Multimedia, Interactive Graphics and Animation
Reuters “The fentanyl funnel: How narcos sneak deadly chemicals through the U.S.” Daisy Chung, Laura Gottesdiener, Drazen Jorgic and Kristina Cooke
This is multimedia storytelling at its best, delivering critical information with clarity and impact. This presentation powerfully exposed the hidden supply chain of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China. Its use of animation, graphics, and concise text made a complicated issue accessible, revealing how these shipments, disguised within everyday retail packages, are fueling the U.S. opioid crisis.
Digital Innovation
Cosmopolitan “Sex After 60” Rosa Heyman
Really comprehensive use of every available medium. Went above and beyond the competitors in breadth of work, ranging from a formal survey to a documentary to a plethora of multi-media experiences that leveraged every possible angle of digital media. It does all this without ever feeling gimmicky, and keeping to clear earnest storytelling that takes advantage of the strengths of each medium. If this is the direction of the magazine industry, it should be a fun future.
Radio or Audio Breaking News Reporting
NO FINALISTS
Radio or Audio Feature Reporting
THE CITY “Hazard NYC: Coal Tar, ‘Poonamis’ and Thousands of New Apartments at the ‘Toxic Wonderland’ of the Gowanus Canal” Jordan Gass-Pooré, Samantha Maldonado, Harry Siegel
This entry makes creative use of natural sound, interviews and music to detail the social, economic, technical and especially environmental challenges of birthing a new neighborhood in Brooklyn around the toxic soup left behind by a century and a half of industrial pollution.
Radio or Audio Investigative Reporting
ABC News “ABC AUDIO – Radioactive: The Karen Silkwood Mystery” ABC Audio
This brings to light new information a half century after the still-mysterious death of nuclear facility worker Karen Silkwood. It skillfully combines archive audio with new interviews about the circumstances of Silkwood’s fatal car crash.
Digital Video Reporting
Streetsblog “Streetsblog Video Reporting” Emily Lipstein, Dave Colon, David Meyer, Sophia Lebowitz
Streetsblog delivered smart, sharp reporting in a format truly native to the platform, meeting audiences where they are and telling the story the way it’s meant to be told. Their videos brought clarity and wit to a complex and often overlooked issue, using TikTok and social video not just as distribution tools, but as storytelling vehicles in their own right.
Local Television Breaking News Reporting
Spectrum News NY1 “Mayor Eric Adams is Indicted” Spectrum News NY1 Team
Even before the federal corruption indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams was unsealed, Spectrum News NY1 had already stationed reporters around town, lined up analysts and was telling viewers about the possible fallout: Would Adams have to resign, could he be removed, who might succeed him? The early-morning coverage included thorough legal and political analyses, Adams’ vehement denial of wrongdoing, calls from fellow Democrats to step aside and details of the charges. It was everything New Yorkers needed to know about this unprecedented event.
Local Television Feature
News 12 “Cannabis Contest: The Great Licensing Adventure” Tara Rosenblum, Audrey Gruber, Jean Salzarulo, Alan Flamenhaft, Scott McGee
By combining thorough research with compelling storytelling, “Cannabis Contest: The Great Licensing Adventure” offers viewers a nuanced understanding of the intersection between criminal justice reform and emerging business opportunities in New York’s cannabis market.
Local TV Series or Investigative Reporting
News 12 New Jersey “Victims of the System” Walt Kane, Karin Attonito, Anthony Cocco, Jessica Lee, Audrey Gruber
A relentless investigation that exposed systemic failures in how the state handled rape kits and treated survivors. This reporting revealed that New Jersey’s refusal to test rape kits wasn’t just bureaucratic negligence, but an institutional decision to look away. The investigation forced the state to confront what it had long ignored. Moving seamlessly between the personal and the systemic, the story lays bare a broken system: a woman records her rapist apologizing twice yet prosecutors refuse to act. One-third of rape kits go untested, not out of oversight, but deliberate neglect justified by the false logic that convictions are unlikely. Survivors are forced to prove themselves to a system designed to disbelieve them. But this story did more than expose injustice, it changed the rules. The outrage it sparked reached lawmakers, compelling the Attorney General to mandate rape kit testing. What makes this investigation exceptional is not just its depth of reporting, but its weight: the voices of survivors, the stark indifference of those in power, and the quiet horror of a system that only moves when forced. This is journalism at its best: fearless, unflinching, and impossible to ignore.
National TV Breaking News Reporting
ABC News “ABC News – Inside Syria: Assad Overthrown” ABC News
With the stunning collapse of dictator Bashar al-Assad’s brutal rule of Syria, an ABC News team led by James Longman hit the ground running to rip open the regime’s secrets and give viewers a first-time glimpse at the long-closed society. The team took us inside Assad’s lavish palace, showed us evidence of his drug-dealing side trade, interviewed Syrians scrambling through the dank corners of the notorious Sednaya prison in search of missing relatives, and followed jubilant crowds on their way to their first Friday prayers since Assad fled to Moscow. The challenging conditions the team overcame and the thorough background it provided made its reporting all the more impressive.
National TV Feature
CBS News 60 Minutes: “Children of War” Scott Pelley, Aaron Weisz, Ian Flickinger, Warren Lustig, Michelle Karim
A tremendous journalistic story of 2 families who disclosed the intimate, painful, and private challenges of living with wounded warriors. It’s a testament to the reporting team’s care with building trust with each of those families, and allowing them to feel comfortable sharing those experiences on national television.
National TV Series or Investigative Reporting
Spectrum News “In US we trust: a crisis of confidence” Josh Robin and Spectrum News Staff
Spectrum News took a smart and timely approach to a critical issue facing the nation. “In U.S. We Trust” offered compelling ideas, practical solutions, and resources to move forward towards potential resolution of our broken trust.
The Mosaic Award
The Associated Press “Prison to Plate” Margie Mason and Robin McDowell
This investigation revealed the staggering reach of U.S. prison labor into global supply chains. Robin McDowell and Margie Mason’s reporting was phenomenal and their techniques of getting to the bottom of the story were riveting. Tracing the source of the goods made by incarcerated people, many of whom are Black and unpaid or underpaid, to companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Walmart and Target, required public records requests in all 50 states, following cattle trucks across state lines and interviewing over 80 current or formerly incarcerated people. Through their reporting, writing, visuals and data analysis, McDowell and Mason showcased exemplary journalism by linking slavery to present-day forced prison labor and using a historical narrative to turn a hidden injustice into an economic and socio-political crisis.
The Les Payne Award for Coverage on Communities of Color
The Associated Press “Prison to Plate” Margie Mason and Robin McDowell
The depth of reporting here is truly impressive, hitting the forced prison labor issue from multiple smart angles, including workplace deaths and the cottage industry built on inmates’ backs. Crisp, straightforward writing augments the impressively thorough reporting.
The Daniel Pearl Award for Investigative Reporting
Reuters “OnlyFans Exposed” Linda So, Andrew R.C. Marshall, Jason Szep, The Reuters Team
The ambition of this project was off the charts and it delivered with all killer and no filler. With meticulous reporting, captivating writing, and unparalleled presentation, this Reuters team helped shatter a corporate narrative with uncomfortable stories of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Public Service Award
The Associated Press “Lethal Restraint” Staffs of the AP, PBS Frontline and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
This entry stands out as an exemplar of public service journalism. Its policy impact across multiple localities, combined with the breadth and depth of investigative reporting and powerful storytelling, makes it a truly deserving winner. The database of victims alone is an extraordinary public service, but when paired with the compelling documentary and accompanying articles, the entry truly shines. It definitely is one of the most loopextensive and thorough submissions we’ve seen. A powerful and deeply impactful entry; the database is an incredible resource in itself, and the documentary adds another compelling layer.
THE DEADLINE CLUB THANKS ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED THE 2025 ANNUAL AWARDS CONTEST, THE MANY JUDGES AND ENCOURAGES ALL JOURNALISTS TO KEEP UP THE EXCEPTIONAL WORK.
Questions or comments: awards@deadlineclub.org
