National Press Club

Wall Street Journal, CQ Roll Call, Reuters and KDVR win top NPC prizes

Will Lester

July 30, 2018

The Wall Street Journal, CQ Roll Call and Reuters won first-place awards and KDVR of Denver had two winning finishes in the 2018 National Press Club journalism contest.

The Wall Street Journal won the breaking news prize for its coverage of the Amazon/Whole Foods merger. Kate Ackley of CQ Roll Call won the Lee Walczak Award for Political Analysis and John Donnelly, also of CQ Roll Call, won the Michael A. Dornheim Award.

A team from Reuters won the consumer news-newspaper prize for a thorough look at levels of lead contamination in water. KDVR won consumer journalism-broadcast for a look at explosives used by the government to kill coyotes -- a dangerous practice, and won an Ann Cottrell Free Award for stories on unregulated horse racing in Colorado.

The winners are scheduled to be recognized at the annual awards dinner on Thursday, Aug. 30, at the Club.

Here is a complete list of the winners:


  • Breaking News - Print: Wall Street Journal staff for its coverage of the Amazon-Whole Foods merger, producing comprehensive coverage in a short time.

  • Breaking News - Broadcast: Kim Brunhuber for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, coverage of Thomas Fire: "Burning Hills of Ojai." Outstanding coverage of the December 2017 fire that broke out in the brush on the hills of Ventura County, California.

  • Consumer Journalism-newspapers: The Reuters investigative series, "Legacy of Lead," for its in-depth reporting and skilled writing, looking at lead contamination problems in counties nationwide.

  • Consumer Journalism-periodicals: Nerd Wallet for an in-depth look at the selling of fruits and vegetables that the grower falsely claimed were organic.

  • Consumer Journalism-broadcast: Denver station Fox 31, KDVR reporter Chris Halsne on the federal government’s use of spring-loaded land mines filled with cyanide gas to kill coyotes.

  • Washington Regional Reporting: Tommy Burr of the Salt Lake Tribune whose entry shows the value of an experienced, well-sourced Washington correspondent.

  • Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence-Print: Christina Goldbaum of the Daily Beast with support of the Fund for Investigative Journalism for a detailed account of U.S. Special Forces operations in Somalia and the killing of 10 Somali farmers.

  • Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence - broadcast: Nick Schifrin and Zach Fannin, PBS NewsHour with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: “Inside Putin's Russia.”

  • Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism-print: Jack Shafer of Politico for timely and original takes on the conflict between the press and the Trump White House.

  • Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism-Broadcast: CBS Sunday Morning. "The Great Divide": In the wake of Donald Trump's election, Ted Koppel and his team examine how media plays a role in America's increasingly partisan politics.

  • Newsletter Journalism: DAMage by Jeremy P. Jacobs, Greenwire (E&E News) _ A look at how drought and climate change have pushed the Western United States into a water crisis.

  • Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award-print: "The Dog Factory" by Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone - a months-long probe into the dark corners of the brutal puppy mill trade.

  • Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award-broadcast: Unsanctioned Horse Racing, Christopher Halsne and the FOX31 Investigative Team, KDVR, Denver. A detailed look at the ugliness of unregulated horse racing in rural Colorado.

  • Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award: Orphan Drug Machine, Sarah Jane Tribble and Sydney Lupkin, Kaiser Health News: A close look at how a program designed to encourage the development of specialty drugs for rare illnesses became a profit strategy.

  • Sandy Hume Award for Excellence in Political Journalism: Kristina Peterson of The Wall Street Journal for clever, innovative coverage of the Capitol and government.

  • Angele Gingras Humor Writing: Mark Harmon: Crisp, clever writing often taking a creative look at a simple idea or detail. He writes for the Knoxville News-Sentinel and sometimes other Gannett papers.

  • Joseph D. Ryle Award for Excellence in Writing on the Problems of Geriatrics: "What Happens When We Let Tech Take Care of Our Aging Parents,” by Lauren Smiley at Wired.

  • Michael A. Dornheim Award: John Donnelly of CQ Roll Call. Stories on F-35 ejections and military accidents that exemplify solid and uncompromised investigative journalism.

  • Lee Walczak Award for Political Analysis: "Women on the Rise, a Powerful Donor Class Emerges in the Age of Trump" by Kate Ackley, staff writer, CQ Roll Call

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Honorable Mentions

  • Breaking News - Print: Bloomberg News staff coverage of the Broadcom-Qualcomm merger.

  • Consumer Journalism-newspapers: "Power Failure: How utilities rewrote rules that shifted costs of risky power to plant projects from shareholders to consumers" by the Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C.

  • Consumer Journalism-periodicals: Bloomberg News - “Pharma’s Playbook to Score Outsized Profits.”

  • Consumer Journalism-broadcast: KPIX -TV: "A Social Experiment: Passionate Parents Prompt Change", with follow-up reporting on whether children’s car seats contain toxic-flame retardants.

  • Washington Regional Reporting: Maureen Groppe of The Indianapolis Star.

  • Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence-Print: Raphael Satter, Jeff Donn and Desmond Butler, The Associated Press for “Russian Hackers.”

  • Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism-print: Racked, “The Swag Project”: The website Racked documented just how much free stuff is heaped on their journalists by the fashion and beauty industries.

  • Newsletter Journalism: Authers Note, by John Authers, Financial Times: This daily newsletter explores daily market moves, with noteworthy commentary.

  • Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award-print: “The Cruelty Behind the Legal Trade of Elephants to Zoos,” Christina Russo and Adam Cruise of the Guardian .

  • Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award-broadcast: “Blood Horns,” Bob Woodruff and the ABC News Nightline Team. With the poaching of white rhinoceros in South Africa up by over 8000 percent since 2007, the species is on the verge of extinction.

  • Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award: ProPublica for “Bombs in our backyard.” An interactive map and compelling video enhanced what was an important investigative report about the handling of toxic sites.

  • Sandy Hume Award for Excellence in Political Journalism: Tim Alberta, Politico Magazine for both breaking news and writing detailed, thorough stories.

  • Angele Gingras Humor Writing: Justin Duckham and Garth von Ahnen. Their smart, funny graphic art panels appeared in the Washington Examiner and websites like Mediaite.

  • Joseph D. Ryle Award for Excellence in Writing on the Problems of Geriatrics: “Hospice in Crisis,” by Joanne Kenen at Politico looks at problems in an area of critical importance.

  • Michael A. Dornheim Award: Bart Jansen of USA Today for his skillful and thorough stories on the evolution of drone aircraft.

  • Lee Walczak Award for Political Analysis: “Donald Trump, Palantir, and the Crazy Battle to Clean Up a Multi-Billion-Dollar Military Procurement Swamp,” by Steven Brill, Fortune

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